


Purse Owners!

by Kohime



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 The Royal, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi is an actual detective, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Canon Compliant Setting, M/M, Slow Burn, The Metaverse is not as you know it, This is NOT comedy, model!Ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-01-31 17:40:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18596218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kohime/pseuds/Kohime
Summary: Small town model Amamiya Ren, mentee of Kujikawa Rise, was accused of a crime he did not commit. Sent to live in Tokyo under a different talent agency and a different high school to finish his education, he got into big trouble in his first Tokyo shoot, when him and fellow model Akechi Goro were transported into a different world and they had to wield Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags to smash their way through "Shadows" and rescue a demon cat in a Gucci cat carrier.This a world where the power of the Metaverse bleeds into reality, and Ruin now approaches with a glamour never before seen.





	1. Fevered Dream

Tokyo dazed him.

Not that he was completely foreign to the city. No, he had been here plenty of times before, for work as well as for a holiday with family and friends. It was the circumstances this time that dazed him, mired him in disbelief and refusal all the way until he boarded the train and watched the familiar scenery being swept away in front of him.

The idea, the very notion of _being sent to Tokyo_ , left him dazed.

He’d thought he had his life all figured out.

Amamiya Ren, up-and-coming model in his home province, a high schooler with average grades and average looks (he liked being modest), single child of well-to-do parents – it wasn’t top notch, but it wasn’t bad either. He didn’t think of himself as the ambitious sort. He wouldn’t have minded moving to Tokyo when he got older for work or study, and neither would he have hated staying in his home city for the rest of his life.

Either way was fun. Both the big city and the regional areas had their own charm.

Sometimes he did wonder what possessed him to make him step out and confront that drunken bald man on that fateful night. It was a decision that, ultimately, had cost him the entirety of his ordinary life. Maybe the absurdity and the speed with which everything had been wrapped up in contributed to his daze. He’d watched like an outsider as he’d been swiftly apprehended and the true culprit permanently disappeared, leaving him to be branded with the title of criminal for a crime that he did not commit.

It was surreal. Sometimes he wished it had been just a dream. That way, maybe he could wake up from it one day.

But for all that happened, he didn’t regret anything. Not at all. The woman needed help that night, with how the bald man had been advancing on her. If he was put in that spot again, he would stand up for her again. Consequences be damned.

Well, maybe it was all because he was in a privileged position.

He was sure less fortunate souls would have had to pay more for such foolishness. At least Ren had the support of Kujikawa Rise. Strangely, when everyone - even his parents - labelled him as a scoundrel, the woman who had introduced him to the world of the show business and his one-time mentor remained his supporter.

When he’d told Rise what happened to him and how he was going to be sent to Tokyo to finish school, he’d asked if she might know anyone in Tokyo he could seek help from. He hadn’t expected her to immediately leap into action, with the top idol arranging his lodgings for the year, sorting out his new school, and even finding him a trustworthy agency to continue his modelling work in Tokyo.

Ren was incredibly grateful for Rise’s help, though how quickly she’d acted had stunned him. Was that what a top idol was capable of if she truly exerted herself?

He blinked slowly as the speakers announced the train’s arrival at Shibuya Station. The agency Rise had arranged for him wanted to meet as soon as possible, which was why he was here on a Sunday, right before he was due to start at his new school. His cheap Android phone was slippery with his sweat as he checked the agency’s address again, fidgeting with the rims of his black jacket, the collar of his white V-neck shirt, and the seams of his charcoal jeans. He only has one backpack with him, as his luggage had already been sent forward to the family he would be staying at. Ren prayed everything would get there at one piece, yet a part of him couldn’t be bothered to care.

Perhaps he he’d been wrong all along. Nothing about his life had ever really been figured out.

Stepping out of Shibuya station, Amamiya Ren ruffled his messy black hair and squinted at the sun from behind his black-rimmed glasses, as he tried to find his way in the city that he now had no choice but to call home.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

The agency was situated in cramped offices above a multitude of restaurants on the eighth floor of a non-descript building, with the décor and furnishings modest at best and utterly plain at worst. It wouldn’t have fit many people’s ideas of what a talent agency in central Tokyo should look like, but Ren had some experiences in this industry. Most agencies, apart from the giant ones, had modest headquarters like this.

The jumpy young receptionist checked his name and showed him to a standard meeting room to wait for his new agent. The receptionist, who was surely older than Ren but barely looked it, placed the agent’s card before him with a nervous smile before leaving the room. Right. Rise hadn’t told him anything about this new agency or his agent.

Whoever “ _Kawakami Sadayo, of Yoshida Talent Agents_ ” was, Ren hoped she would either talk fast and get this over and done with, or have nothing to talk about and let him out the door quickly all the same.

“Amamiya-kun, isn’t it?”

Ren snapped his head up, his hand still holding onto the business card he was studying. He must have been so lost in thought that he didn’t even hear this person coming in. The woman in front of him was young, with a head of fluffed, messy black hair much like his own, but not messy in the stylishly dishevelled way that some models chose to wear. Different from Ren’s own face, there were dark circles around her eyes and a permanent frown around the edges of her mouth. And when she stared at him, it wasn’t with admiration or even friendliness, but with suspicion, which he thought likely had to do with the papers in her hands.

Papers that he assumed were related to him.

Barely looking at him in the eye, this woman – Kawakami Sadayo, Ren presumed – sat herself down opposite him and placed the papers on the table. Sure enough, Ren recognised his own photo attached to some forms.

“I am Kawakami, your new manager. As you know, Amamiya-kun, you were recommended to the agency by Kujikawa Rise-san.” Now that they finally looked at each other, Ren could tell the woman was probably _really_ tired. Fatigue happened to talents and agents across the industry, but Kawakami-san was on a whole different level. Her clothes were shabby and unkempt, and she seemed to be straining just to keep her eyes open. While some models paired their dishevelment with something artfully disarrayed and sexy, this agent was literally just dressed in a baggy striped one-piece that was a little too big for her, with a large brown coat thrown haphazardly over it to cover herself further.

 _‘It’s like she_ actually _just rolled out of bed_ ,’ he thought _._ No. She seemed like someone had dragged her out of bed. And while agents didn’t need to maintain their looks, Ren couldn’t help but think that Kawakami was probably the worst put-together agent he had ever seen.

“Kujikawa-san talked a lot with the company director and persuaded him into taking you in.” The grimace Kawakami now added to her face made her features seem even more unbecoming. “I hope you understand your situation here. The whole agency thinks we are helping you for Kujikawa-san’s sake, and we know you’re here on probation for assault. If you are caught doing anything underhanded, especially things like drugs and alcohol that we know young talents often get tempted into, I won’t hesitate to let you go.”

Ren nodded. He had expected something like this.

“Good.” Kawakami didn’t wait for him to say anything and went straight to turning over his resume and putting aside his forms. Maybe one of his previous predictions was right. She was going to get him out of her sight sooner rather than later.

"So…” She scanned the first page of his resume. “You made your debut in _Shine on Nippon_? That's how you know Kujikawa-san?"

Ren nodded but didn't reply. That was a rhetorical question, after all – or at least, he hoped it was, since this was all in his file. _Shine on Nippon_ was a talent show that focused on discovering young people who were different from the usual cute girl idol crowd, but it hadn’t stopped the production team from bringing super idol Risette in as a judge. The show was where Ren had first made his way into showbiz, and where he had first become personally acquainted with Kujikawa Rise

"You got… sixth place in the second season? Not bad." His new agent was leafing through the second page of his resume now. "And you were noted for your talents in dancing and acrobatics. Why not a dance company then? Why do modelling?"

 _It was too cut-throat,_ he wanted to say. Dance was a world that seethed with fierce and even violent competition and jealousy. He had more than once heard people make threats about breaking each other’s legs, and casual sabotage became a part of daily life. It wasn't what Ren wanted as a career, or even as a hobby. Backstabbing was rife in modelling, too, but even so, Ren found it far more bearable than his old dance troupe.

"Opportunities in dance became very limited." He said instead.

It was the first sentence he had spoken before Kawakami, and that seemed to wake the woman up somewhat. His agent raked her eyes over Ren's body, noting the teenager's tall height, long limbs, and toned musculature, but the woman said nothing about it.

“And after you finished with this dance company… you stayed in Ibaraki Prefecture… and did a variety of modelling gigs and two stage plays.” The woman sighed and closed his resume, probably expecting far more from someone whom Risette had championed so hard for. At least she had the decency not to say anything nasty about his lack of achievements since _Shine on Nippon_. His dance colleagues had certainly taken every opportunity to hint at it back in the days. “Alright. Here are the papers to sign you up with the agency officially. We have pre-populated lots of the blanks based on discussions with your previous agent. Copies have been sent to your parents and your new guardian and they’ve given their approval. Look over it and fill the rest in. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Ren took the paper and scanned its contents.

Standard form. Pay and conditions as per normal. No crazy demands.

He wouldn’t call himself an old hand in show business, but he liked to think that he knew what he should be looking out for as he read the fine print carefully.

Seeing nothing amiss, he filled in some of the details that were missing. When he looked up, Kawakami had her eyes closed and her chin resting on one of her hands, seeming as if she had fallen asleep.

Ren coughed.

Kawakami’s eyes immediately flew open, as she stared straight at Ren. “Are you done then?”

Damn, if she wasn’t a talent agent, this woman could have been a sharp high school teacher.

The teenager nodded and slid the form back over to her. Kawakami checked it, nodded to herself, then packed it away. Thinking that was the end of their business for the day, Ren began to rise and reach for his backpack, but to his surprise, Kawakami stopped him.

“One more thing,” she said, almost as an afterthought. “Come back here after you finish up at your new school tomorrow. We have a photo shoot booked for you from 4 to 6 tomorrow afternoon.”

“What.”

This was new. Ren had never been given a job the day after he signed up with an agency, and to be honest, he hadn’t expected to get many jobs in Tokyo, let alone one so soon, given his circumstances.

“What? You don’t want the money?” Kawakami evidently took his shock the wrong way. “We can give the opportunity to another one of our models then.”

“No! No – I mean, no. I’m just shocked. I just got to Tokyo and…” He paused. Kawakami was looking at him with a mixture of boredom and distain. Ren coughed again and lowered his head until his curly fringe blocked his eyes somewhat. He knew it made him look more vulnerable. “… I didn’t expect a job to turn up so soon.”

“It’s a project that we’ve been discussing with a magazine for a while now. They wanted someone who is, and I quote, ‘ _an ordinary high schooler by day and HOT by night_.’” As Ren peeked at her from behind his fringe, Kawakami rolled her eyes as hard as she could. Even her head tilted backwards. “We didn’t have any young models who fit such a profile until Kujikawa-san referred you to us. After looking over some of your pictures, the director put you forward, and Okumura Entertainment accepted the proposal.” She tilted her head. “You have heard of Okumura Entertainment and the _Monthly Youth Style_ magazine, yes?”

“I have heard of _Monthly Youth Style_ , yes.” Ren answered honestly. The magazine was pretty well-known all over Japan. “But I didn’t know it was managed by Okumura Entertainment.” That was another big name, a famous multi-media publisher that dabbled in almost every corner of entertainment publishing. Ren knew they were involved in films, TV series, magazines, digital publishing, and even some fashion shows.

“Now you know.” Kawakami said this as if that was supposed to explain everything, including asking him to come to work tomorrow. “This project has photoshoots planned every fortnight on Monday afternoons. There may be emergency photoshoots or weekend hours, but you’ll be advised beforehand to the best of our ability. All photo shoots will be held in a studio affiliated with Okumura and I’ll email you the location tonight, but make sure to pop in here first tomorrow. Put all that in your phone and don’t forget.”

Ren dutifully took out his phone and started to type it into his completely empty calendar. “What is the project called?” He asked, if only just to fill out the calendar entry more.

A dismissive ‘tch’ escaped from the corner of Kawakami’s mouth. “They call it ‘The Phantom Thieves” and will be rolling it out in the digital version of the magazine first. I’ll spare you the bizarre details so you can get a full taste of it tomorrow.”

Ren didn’t like the sound of that. “Do I need to prepare or bring anything tomorrow?” He asked, hoping Kawakami might give him more information.

“Just your best ‘hot stuff’ persona.” Kawakami shook her head and finally stood up. “And I hope you’re not allergic to luxury brands or wearing a mask.”

Ren blinked, but Kawakami was already halfway out of the door. “I’m heading out now. Any questions, you can ask the receptionist Mishima-kun. I see he already gave you my card. See you tomorrow.”

In the end, Ren still didn’t know what this shoot tomorrow was going to be about. He just hoped it wouldn’t turn into another mess.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

After accidentally getting on the wrong train at Shibuya Station, Ren dragged himself towards the doors of the apartment building a full hour later than the time he told his new guardian. Night had already fallen over Tokyo, and it took him a while to find this building amidst the half a dozen identical high-rises included in this apartment complex.

Ren cursed under his breath and clenched his phone harder. He had called and messaged his new guardian numerous times to explain himself, but she’d never picked up or returned his messages. He didn’t know if she even received any of the things he sent her this afternoon.

So far, his probation – and possibly long-term stay – in Tokyo was just going peachy.

His finger had barely touched the button for his intended apartment before the speaker lit up. The person must have been standing ready at the receiver. Ren thought about the implications of this and winced internally.

“Hi, Niijima-san. This is Amamiya. I’m horribly sorry that I’m late – “

“I know. I got your message.” A tart female voice said on the other side of the line. “Come on up quick. Dinner is waiting for you.”

With that, the main door _clicked_ open.

Ren took a small breath of relief and bounded towards the elevators. Within minutes he had reached the correct floor, standing outside the doors of Niijima Sae’s home, and pressing the doorbell.

The door immediately opened – why does she do things so fast? – but the person standing inside the threshold was definitely not the woman Ren had expected to see. Instead of the confident and self-assured Tokyo prosecutor whom he had seen a few times over Skype, it was a teenage girl about the same age as Ren with short brown hair. She _stared_ at him unblinkingly, her eyes a unique shade of dark red, her pale face hard and unyielding. She was practically standing in his way as her hands held onto the doorframe, blocking his passage into the apartment with her lithe frame dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants. She was biting her lip as she kept up the stare and the pose, and Ren frowned as he kept his ground, not going to step down in the face of the girl’s hostility.

“He’s here, Sis.” With a slightly shaking voice, the girl called out into the apartment, and Ren took a step back, realizing she wasn’t doing this because of hostility, but fear. As soon as he heard steps coming towards the door, the girl abandoned her post. Ren was left to face the steely countenance of Niijima Sae, public prosecutor, and the person whom Rise had _somehow_ arranged to be his guardian for his stay at Tokyo.

“Come in. Your stuff is already here.” That was the mature voice, light grey hair, and tall figure he recognized. Sae was an imposing young woman, to say the least, and Ren noted she walked with a kind of confident aura well fit for a model – even when she was in a casual shirt and loose dress pants. She swept her long hair aside and gestured for him to come inside, and he followed her into the living area of the apartment, noting how the place was decorated simply with black and white minimalistic furniture. “Makoto and I have had dinner, but yours is still on the table. Feel free to heat it up.

“Thank you. Emm, Makoto?”

Niijima Sae half turned and made an uncomfortable face. “That’s my younger sister. She goes to the same school as you will be, and she’s the student council president there. She’ll look after you at Shujin Academy.”

Ren decided not to say anything. He had not been aware that there was a younger Niijima, or that the sister would be keeping an eye on him even at school. He’d made a deliberate decision not to be involved with the student council when he was in other schools. The amount of politics people indulged in for so little power never sat well with him, just like how he couldn’t justify the misery that life in a dancing company entailed. He peeked around Niijima Sae’s shoulder to see that Niijima Makoto was sitting at her desk in her room, back straight, arms stiff.

Yeah, he didn’t know what to feel about this.

After dinner, Sae showed him his room, a small single room that barely had enough space for a bed. Sae explained this had previously been a storage room for her and her sister, and Ren could still see signs of it.

The shelves were wall mounted to save as much space as possible, and the bed was literally just a wooden board on top of wooden boxes. Sae offered a short apology for it, but then Ren hadn’t really expected anything better. After squeezing in his luggage, a tiny single table, and that bed, there was barely any space in the room for Ren to walk.

Still, that was fine. Less space in the room meant there was less space for his mind to wander, to dwell on exactly what had gone wrong for him to end up here, sleeping on wooden boards in a Tokyo prosecutor’s apartment, working for a god-knows-what magazine project and counting down the days until the end of his probation.

Even after he arrived in Tokyo, he was still dazed.

When he fell asleep that night, he felt that he had incomprehensible, fevered dreams. Yet when he woke in the morning, the only things he could remember were vague notions of an old man with a crooked nose, a young girl, and a room completely draped in soft, velvety blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This is my first time using AO3 so I hope I got all the tags right!
> 
> Initially I planned to cover everything in the summary within one chapter, but that became way too long. Alas, the summary itself is now a spoiler for events to come.
> 
> As you can see, most people's roles have been changed somewhere, but everyone will eventually make it into the story in one way or another.
> 
> Hope you like the premise for this story. It sounds whacky but I promise it will get more serious... eventually.


	2. Under These Masks

Niijima Makoto, his supposed minder and guide around Tokyo, had completely ruined his morning, and all without even being present.

Rather, it was her absence (by running away) that had fouled up the start of his day.

Thank the Heavens for Google Maps.

Ren wondered if he would ever have just one _normal_ day in Tokyo as he rushed off the train and all but sprinted towards the neighbourhood of Shujin Academy. Niijima Sae had told her sister over breakfast to make sure Ren would get to school on time, but the younger Niijima evidently had had other ideas. She’d disappeared on Ren at the train station, leaving him to board the train to Shujin himself. It was a miracle he even got on the right train.

He had enough composure left to stop a few blocks away from the school gates and look over himself in the shop windows. He had tried to be as immaculate with his uniform as possible this morning. His white turtleneck was tucked in, jacket buttoned up, and his pant legs were straight and pristine. The last thing he wanted was to get into trouble on his first day, especially with his record.

Sae had reassured him that she had spoken at length with the school principal and the teachers who would be looking after him. He’d only spent one night under the woman's roof, but Ren already found himself willing to believe her words, at least on a professional level. The elder Niijima might not be empathetic - not that Ren expected her to believe he was innocent when she asked about his criminal charge - but she sure was responsible. If she said that she would do something, she would damn well do it. Ren might even go so far as to call her stubborn - but that remained to be seen.

He still had some time before the school day started.

Taking some deep breathes to calm his heartbeat after the run from the train station, Ren fell into step with the steady stream of students heading to the school gates. He was still a good half-block away from the school when his phone vibrated, and he stopped to check the message.

Kawakami had indeed sent him information last night on the location of the photo shoot, and it seemed she was following up with more relevant stuff today. Attached to the message was a scanned form with 4 profile photos and names written next to the photos. Ren saw one of those 4 faces was himself.

 _These are your fellow models for the Phantom Thief project._ Kawakami's message read. _Make an effort to match their faces with their names, at least._

The names read _Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji, Akechi Goro_ , and _Amamiya Ren_. Ren squinted at his phone.

Takamaki looked a hundred percent foreign with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and Caucasian features. Her expression was bright and optimistic, the ideal face for a bright young star early in their career.

Sakamoto sported a similar head of blond hair, but it was clearly dyed and his heritage was definitely Asian. He had a bit of an awkward grin on his face, as if he wasn’t fully comfortable in the spotlight.

Akechi was the only one who wore a charming smile fitting for a model on his photo, but his shoulder length _chapatsu_ hair was getting out of fashion in this day and age. Not to mention the smile was sickeningly sweet.

And then there was Ren himself - yeah, his glasses certainly did make him look camera-shy and dorky, and he was definitely going for that 'dark-and-mysterious' look.

What a group of four misfits.

With one quick 'I understand' sent back to Kawakami, Ren pocketed his phone and turned back towards the school gates. There was no point in being reprimanded for using his phone in class when he was already on probation. He trudged towards the gates with dozens of other students, noting how there were two teachers standing next to the gates, no doubt visually checking everyone's uniform. The one in a suit and glasses let Ren pass him without giving the teenager a glance, but the buff teacher in a tank top and with a whistle hanging on a lanyard off his neck - a physical education teacher? - kept his stare on Ren even after Ren was well on his way inside school grounds.

 _PE this year could be creepy_ , Ren thought.

He went straight to the deputy principal's office as Sae had instructed, introducing himself and producing an official letter from Sae. The deputy principal, a severe looking woman with greying hair, nodded and gave him directions to Class 2-D, where he was to report to his new homeroom. The same mantra of "do anything funny and you will be expelled" was repeated to him, though Ren said nothing. 

He’d heard it before, and he expected to hear it again when he got to the classroom.

Sure enough, he did, with the woman in charge of Class 2-D receiving him coldly when Ren arrived. He honestly didn’t see why she went on and on. Shujin was built just like all other Japanese high schools and with identical rules. With how much his homeroom teacher talked and talked about the school layout and its rules, she probably thought he had never attended a Japanese high school before.

Eventually however, the bell rang, and the homeroom teacher walked into the class with Ren for an introduction. As he bowed to the class after writing his name on the board, Ren scanned the room as the teacher talked about him. There were some furtive glances towards him and he wondered if his case had already been leaked. It wouldn't be the first time, and he wondered who might be responsible for this.

As far as he could tell based on their dress, posture, and mannerism, the class was average. Boys were slouched over their tables, girls were fiddling with their hair or subtly adjusting their bras, and there were even a mix of dyed hair colours.

A speck of bright gold caught his attention, as he turned towards the back of the room, over by the window. It helped that the owner of the blonde hair was straining her upper body to get a better look at Ren, her mouth half-open and her blue eyes rapidly blinking in surprise. Her thick twin tails traced arcs in the air as she turned her head towards the other side of the room, momentarily covering up her face, but Ren found himself sucking in a shocked breath as he realised who he was looking at.

That girl sitting in his class was Takamaki Ann.

Ren followed Takamaki's gaze. Sakamoto Ryuji was sitting at the opposite aide of the room, doing a slightly better job at containing his surprise, but his eyes were still wide as saucers. It was easier to recognise him than Takamaki - he still had the punk-ish hairstyle as he did in the photo and the same hair colour, but she had let her hair down in that stock photo. The twin tails she sported now made her look years younger.

Ren's heart beat hard against his rib cage. He could hear blood flowing past his ear drums as Takamaki and Sakamoto made facial expressions towards each other across the classroom. They must have received the same information as he had. They must already know each other. What did they think about him? What did they know about him? Had they searched for his name online??

When the teacher touched him on the shoulder, Ren physically _jumped_.

"Amamiya-kun," the woman's smooth brow was creased into a frown, "I said go to your seat at the back corner of the room, please."

Ren stiffly nodded and forced his legs to move. He would be sitting two rows behind Sakamoto and across the room from Takamaki. When he walked past Sakamoto, the two teenagers locked eyes with each other and Sakamoto offered him a small, crooked smile.

After Ren sat down, he sneaked a look at Takamaki. She was subtly looking behind her back towards him too.

Ren's heart thudded even harder.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-

 

The day dragged on and on, with the seconds feeling like minutes, the minutes feeling like hours, the hours feeling like… years. Throughout all of it, Ren had wanted a chance to speak with Sakamoto and Takamaki at the same time, even as he almost dreaded what they would say.

Unfortunately, he wasn't given a choice.

The staff of the school summoned him to meetings with the principal and other senior teachers throughout the day, and when Ren was finally free, the other two models were nowhere to be seen. It was only when the final bell rang to indicate the end of the day that Sakamoto stood up stiffly from his desk and walked towards Ren, with Takamaki following not far behind with both of their schoolbags.

"Hi." Ren could already tell Sakamoto was bad at this by the time the other boy stood before his desk. The blond's smile was awkward and unsteady as he greeted Ren. "You are Amamiya, right? You… doing the modelling gig with me and Ann?"

"Hello!" Takamaki was full of pleasantness when she reached him, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity as a genuine smile lit up her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you! I never thought we'd be in the same school though! And definitely not in the same class!"

Their raised voices attracted attention from the other students who were getting ready to go home. Furtive glances were shot towards them. Sakamoto looked around with a scowl, and Ren noted the subtle muscles that were visible under Sakamoto's shirt tensing as the blond teen shifted and turned menacingly. The gossiping classmates instantly scattered.

"We heard… well, people in this school say you're here on probation." Takamaki lowered her voice. Her blue eyes were uneasy as Sakamoto made sure that the snooping classmates have gone well away. "Is that true…?"

There was no point hiding it. If they were going to be colleagues in modelling, they were bound to hear about it sooner or later. Besides, it seemed a lot of the class was already aware of it, so he chose to go with the diplomatic approach. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Sakamoto and Takamaki both gave him an uneasy look. Their previously open expressions seemed to become clouded after Ren spoke. Ren wondered what the problem was.

"You… Um, I have no idea about how to break this… but wouldn't that cause problems with your talent agency?" Takamaki made a small grimace.

"It did." Ren replied calmly. "I'm not from Tokyo."

Takamaki and Sakamoto exchanged another concerned series of glances, except this time the expression on her face was a bit more tender.

"Well, in that case… how did you get to Shujin this morning? Where are you staying? How long have you been in Tokyo?"

Ren paused, not expecting this barrage of questions from Takamaki. He squinted at her, but she only beamed back at him with an encouraging smile. It seemed that whatever was worrying her and Sakamoto before had passed away, even if temporarily.

"I… I'm not staying too far away," he told them, mentioning the suburb the Niijimas were living in. "I did almost miss the train this morning and got lost at Shibuya Station last night, though," he concluded glumly.

Takamaki and Sakamoto looked at each other again, and Takamaki giggled while Sakamoto cracked a grin.

"That's basically central Tokyo for you, man. Getting lost in the train stations is a part of life." Sakamoto nodded at Ren. “I totally understand where you are coming from.”

“I’m not completely new to Tokyo, but Shibuya Station was… a challenge.” Ren could feel the corner of his own lips twitching into a resigned frown, the memory of his trials with the train last night still fresh in his mind. He never knew there could be so many people packed inside a station that you would be physically incapable of heading to another platform.

“It just takes time to get used to it. And it’s even better if you have someone else to show you the way.” Takamaki winked. She was very easy on the eyes – the more Ren looked at her, the more he realised why she was a model. Sure, her foreign heritage was stunning at first sight, but her enthusiasm and kindness were infectious enough that even Ren was starting to feel a bit better.

“So… I guess the question is, do you want to head to our photo shoot at Shibuya together this afternoon?” Sakamoto, definitely the more awkward of the duo, offered Ren a small smile. “We can grab food afterwards together too… if you don’t mind, that is!”

Ren haven’t figured out what made Sakamoto stand out, though. The boy was athletic – he’d give Sakamoto that - but he was missing the kind of charm Takamaki naturally exuded. It seemed Sakamoto had to try to make himself presentable, rather than already having the confidence and social skills that Takamaki had by default. _But then_ , a small part of Ren’s mind supplied unhelpfully, _you aren’t much of a model either until you are directly under the spotlight_.

“I… I don’t mind going to the studio with you.” Ren yielded, not seeing a point in resisting their kindness any further. “I have to see my agent first though, if you don’t mind. The agency is also in Shibuya.”

“Sure. It’d give us a chance to show you more of Shibuya as well.” Takamaki gave him a big, happy grin. “And we can head to the studio together after we are done with your agent. Ryuji and I have both shot pictures at that studio before – it’s not a bad place and the staff there are super nice. I think you’d like it.”

“T-Thanks.” Ren found himself stammering in the face of such friendliness from Takamaki and Sakamoto. He had expected even more hostility from these two. If anything, the amount of jealousy and enmity young models usually felt towards each other had prepared him for something like that. But Takamaki and Sakamoto blew his expectations away with their genuine and open welcome. He was rendered quite speechless, to be honest.

“You’re welcome.” Sakamoto grinned back. “And we’ll see how well you perform as a model once we get to work.”

Ahh, that was a bit more like the kind of attitudes he usually encountered. But it wasn’t all that threatening or intimidating with the way Sakamoto said it, even though the blond could easily look scary if he wanted to. Ren just nodded.

With that, Takamaki gestured for the three of them to pack up and head out of the school. They were on time as far as school was concerned – many students had not left the school grounds yet, heading towards one club or another.

Still, as they walked, it was curious how many frowns and suspicious looks Takamaki got as she walked down the corridor.

Was it because she was the only foreigner? Or maybe it was just because she was walking in front of Ren and Sakamoto, and Ren knew he must be the hottest conversation topic in the school – a title he was really not keen on keeping for long.

Sakamoto pointed out some of the more peculiar teachers as they walked out from the school gates, letting him know who taught what classes and who were the ill-tempered ones to look out for. He then talked about the shops they passed as they walked to the train station, and Takamaki chimed in to point out a neat alleyway that cut between two big blocks of roads – a good shortcut if one was truly going to be late for school. Ren showed the two of them the route he had taken to run to school today and Takamaki and Sakamoto both shook their heads, then pointed out a back way that he could have taken and with far less car traffic.

It felt weird, being accepted like this without question. Ren hadn’t really experienced anything like this for a long time. In the past few months, everyone had avoided him like the plague due to the criminal case. But even before that, he’d already stood out amongst his peers because of his achievements in the talent show. Except that was a good kind of standing out, and now it was a bad kind.

The three of them eventually got to the train station and boarded the correct train to Shibuya, clutching their school bags tight so that thieves wouldn’t get a chance to steal. Ren indicated the address of his agency to the other two while on the train, with Sakamoto nodding and saying it wasn’t that far from the studio.

In fact, they could probably walk from the agency to the studio in under fifteen minutes.

Takamaki made a small complaint about how far their own agency was. They were signed up with a much more prestigious company, one that was rich enough to afford offices in Ginza. Which was nice except that every time she and Sakamoto had to head to the office after school, it was a massive pain.

The train ride passed a lot faster with the three of them chatting about boring things – Takamaki praising and disliking the Tokyo trains at the same time, Sakamoto agreeing with her absentmindedly, and Ren occasionally asking for clarification when they mentioned places he had never been to. It was nice, really nice, to just chat about things like this. It almost made him forget about the year looming before him. Almost.

Once they arrived at Shibuya Station, Takamaki led the trio outside and over to the building that housed Ren's agency. For a moment, Ren wondered whether to bring them upstairs, but Takamaki said they were fine waiting for him at the street level, as long as Ren didn't take too long.

Well, he wouldn’t anyway, since there was only about half an hour left before they had to get to the studio. With that, Ren nodded at them and went up on his own.

"Oh, you're here on time, huh?"

Kawakami looked like she barely made it here on time herself. When Ren walked through the front door, she was still busily trying to run a comb through her unruly hair, and the labels of her suit jacket were creased in a bizarre angle. Ren couldn't help but think she would be much happier still sleeping somewhere.

"Just give me a few seconds, Amamiya-kun, and I'll be ready to walk you to the studio."

Ren blinked slowly. Was that all Kawakami wanted to see him for?

"I… I can walk to the studio myself, if you don't have anything else you need me for…?" He cautiously offered. Kawakami stopped fighting with her own hair and turned to look at him, her large black eyes wide.

"Are you sure? You are the first talent that Okumura had accepted from us in a long time. I would… I would hate for you to get lost and lose face for the company."

 _Oh, so that was the deal, huh_. Ren couldn't really fault the woman though. Based on what he had heard from Sakamoto and Takamaki, he could tell that this agency was really just a small fish in the massive pond that was Tokyo.

"It's okay, Kawakami-san. I… I met Sakamoto-san and Takamaki-san today. They are in my class. In the same school I am attending."

Kawakami's eyes widened even further in surprise. "Are you serious??"

"Yeah. I… I didn't believe it at first either." Ren nodded. "But they were the ones who got me on the train and got me here on time today. They asked me to walk to the studio with them as well."

Kawakami didn't answer for such a long time that Ren began to worry that maybe the woman had some issues with what he said. However, Kawakami just sighed and put the hair comb down on the table. Then, turning away from him, she walked over to the floor-length windows to the side of the receptionist's desk, and looked down at the street below.

"Do you trust them, Amamiya-kun?"

Ren frowned. "You mean…"

"You're young, but you've been in showbiz for a few years already." Kawakami looked at him. Sure, she was still tired, but the hard glint in her eyes showed Ren that she knew exactly what she was doing in this industry. "Modelling isn't easy work. There are too many young models and not enough gigs. People sabotage each other all the time. You may be classmates with them, but out here in Shibuya, you are also competitors. Do you trust them, Amamiya-kun?"

Ren walked up to join Kawakami and looked down. Even from the eighth floor, he could still clearly discern Takamaki and Sakamoto's figure. They were two bright dots of gold in a sea of shifting brown and black, impossible to miss even if he wanted to. Sakamoto was gesturing wildly and Takamaki's head shook, as if she was laughing or just disapproved of what he was saying. Ren was acutely aware of Kawakami's gaze on him as well - she wasn't looking at the two teenagers on the ground level. She was more interested in her own charge.

"Yeah, I trust them." Ren let out softly. "They've been really good to me today. I'll keep my senses sharp, too."

Kawakami let out a long sigh next to him. "If you insist… Run along then. Don't keep the studio waiting."

Ren nodded and turned to leave. Just before he existed the door, he turned back and bowed to Kawakami, while also offering a word of thanks.

He closed the door too quickly to see the tired smile on Kawakami's face.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

The three young models made it to the studio with ten minutes to spare. Thankfully, the studio knew it was their first day and had only been planning to explain the project for the first half hour.

Takamaki was right about the staff being really nice. They were welcomed and shown to a meeting room, where numerous chairs surrounded a table. There were a few more staff sitting there, as well as another teenager, who immediately stood up in greeting when the trio entered the room.

Right. There was to be a fourth colleague. The boy who must be Akechi bowed his head slightly, and Ren heard Takamaki gasp beside him.

"Oh. I still can't believe it even though Hanamura-san explained the whole situation… you really _ARE_ Akechi Goro-san, the Second Coming of the Detective Prince from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police!"

_Wait what?_

Ren's thoughts froze as he did a double take. He rapidly glanced between Takamaki and Akechi, hoping he’d heard her wrong.

No chance.

Akechi nodded, his shoulder length _chapatsu_ hair swaying a little, and replied with a rather soft and androgynous voice and a sweet smile. His beige coat covered up his body, and Ren couldn’t tell what kind of figure Akechi had. All he noted was that the boy was quite tall.

"Yes. I am unfortunately a man wearing too many hats. Please just treat me as a normal colleague while I'm here, though."

 _Sickeningly sweet_. Ren frowned, the impression he got from Akechi's picture coming to his mind.

Akechi was an entirely different kind of talent to the other models in this room. Sakamoto might be an unpolished rough gem and Takamaki might be someone who shone with an inner radiance, but Akechi was the kind of model and actor who wrapped himself up in his professional persona. Ren felt sad to say that people like Akechi usually found success faster than the likes of Takamaki. They found one fake persona that suited their image and immersed themselves in it, until it was like the original person wasn't there anymore.

The affected sweetness in Akechi's voice certainly indicated this to Ren.

"Alright boys and girls, hurry up and sit down." Ren wasn't given any more time to ponder as a striking woman emerged from the door behind them, gesturing brusquely at the chairs. "We haven't got all day."

Sakamoto all but shoved Ren into the closest chair in his hurry to get out of the way.

The woman walked towards the head of the table, handing out more paperwork to the young models. "I see we've got some old and new faces here. For Ann-chan and Ryuji-chan, welcome back. And Akechi-kun and Amamiya-kun," she sat down with a flourish, "welcome to Takemi Photography & Art. I’m Takemi Tae, and I run the studio here."

Ren looked around the room. Takamaki was very much at ease, smiling at Takemi. Sakamoto’s expression was a bit strained, and Ren wondered if he’d had a bad experience with Takemi in the past. Akechi was evidently on his best behaviour as well, smiling pleasantly through the whole thing.

“I have your files all on hand, and I know none of you are new to the business, so I’ll leave the basic housekeeping rules for now. Time is money, and even Okumura Entertainment cannot wait forever.” Takemi twirled her chair a little. She was wearing a fashionable white coat, and Ren spied a tight black shirt and black shorts underneath, leaving large swathes of leg visible underneath her coat. “I have distributed the final version of the project files to you just now. Have a read. You are smart kids, so I’ll talk as you read.”

Four pairs of hands reached out to the paperwork and opened them. Ren saw the Okumura Entertainment logo and skipped through the front pages that thanked all the publishers and investors involved, heading straight for the part where the idea behind the project was discussed.

“This is an idea that Okumura Entertainment has had for a long time.” Takemi started explaining as the teens read the document. “They wanted something that targeted rebellious teenagers, and the theme is to emphasise how different Japanese young people are outside of school hours, using that contrast to try to get the teen demographic into buying mature brands. Therefore, your outfits will be a lot more expensive and elaborate than the usual fashion photoshoot.”

Sakamoto made a grimace and Akechi shook his head slightly.

“The main thing our investors want to bring out is how even an ordinary high schooler can become hot and sexy after school.” Takemi tapped the table with a pen. “So, I would like you to bring out your best ‘hot and sexy’ mode, especially you boys. We are expecting you three to produce pictures that improves fashion spending for both genders, so do your best.”

Akechi made an audible cough. Ren could relate.

“The exact details aren’t set in stone yet. We will be taking your feedback into account. Still, Okumura _has_ named this project _Phantom Thieves_ , which means you should add mystique, rebellion, and mischievousness into your photos. You will also be wearing masquerade-type masks to emphasise that aspect. This could be a big test to your capacities as a model. Don’t expect me to cut you any slack, either. I have bills to pay too.” Takemi looked over the young models at the table. “Does anyone have any questions?”

The documents essentially summed up what Takemi had explained. This was a very experimental project aimed at affluent teens to get them spending on big luxury brands. Each of them would be cast as certain ‘personas’, portraying certain aspects of the idea “ordinary high schoolers are extraordinary after school’. Ren supposed it wasn’t a bad idea, as far as project planning goes. He also imagined that none of his fellow models were particularly happy with the sexualisation aspect of it all, but that was the Japanese entertainment industry for you.

“We’ll do some individual shots for about 30 minutes today, have a break, and then finish up with some group pictures.” Takemi continued. “The first 30 minutes are mainly to let you fit into the kind of character Okumura wants out of this project. If you don’t have any questions, let’s get you to the changing rooms and get your outfits and make up ready.”

Since no one had much to ask, they allowed themselves to be hustled into the changing rooms and have their make-up applied. Ren couldn’t help but keep glancing at his outfit as the makeup artist applied foundation, lipstick, and eyeliner onto his face. The paper at his make-up station said ‘Jester’.

“What’s with ‘Jester’?” He asked the make-up artist.

The woman grinned at him. “That’s your ‘role’, as determined by Takemi-san after looking at your past works. She thinks you’d fit something like a jester best.”

 _That’s… not a bad judgement of my character_.

Ren knew what he liked the most about modelling. It was the attention, the blinding spotlight that allowed him to step out of the shell that was Amamiya Ren. Rise liked the flamboyance he showed when under the limelight, but his dance masters often thought it was too much, that he stole the show from other dancers. It was one of the reasons he’d started to move towards stage play before the case happened. He’d thought his expressiveness might be better fit for theatre or plays.

When he got to try the outfit in its full glory, Ren mentally thanked Takemi again. It was an elaborate, sleeveless dark shirt that seemed more like a vest or corset in its design, figure-hugging dark pants, and that _long black trench coat_. The red gloves were simply icing on the cake. Ren grinned to himself more and more as he put on pieces of the outfit. When he walked out of the dressing room and into the studio, he could already feel himself slipping into the skin of this jester persona.

Akechi was already there, fidgeting with his white outfit tinged with red and gold strands, something reminiscent of an elaborate military uniform. He was wearing a rather bizarre red mask with a long beak, so ridiculous that Ren wouldn’t have recognised him if it weren’t for his hair. Ren flashed a big grin at Akechi, and while the other boy didn’t notice it, Takemi raised both eyebrows behind her camera.

“Someone is into it.” She muttered appreciatively with an indulgent smile and gestured towards Ren. “Come and get in front of the screen now. I’m gonna deal with you two first so Ann-chan and Ryuji-chan can use your dressing rooms, then you can have a break while they have their shoot.”

“Thank you, Takemi-san.” Akechi thanked Takemi with that sickeningly sweet voice again.

“What’s your role, Akechi-san?” Ren knew he got much more talkative in his stage persona. He strutted towards Akechi like a true jester and smirked when the latter took a step back.

“… The Prince.” Akechi smiled in reply, but Ren could see it was apprehensive even from behind the mask. “I’ll try my best to be the polite and elegant noble Takemi-san cast me as.”

“Hey, don’t diss those roles. I took time to think them up based on all the old pictures of you I had available.” Takemi gestured and an assistant rushed up, fixing a masquerade-style white mask over Ren’s eyes. “At least one of you is really enjoying it. Aren’t you, Ren-chan?”

“Ren-chan…?” Ren blinked but didn’t argue back. No point, when it seemed to be Takemi’s style.

“Ren-chan it is then.” Takemi drawled. “I don’t suppose you want to be called Goro-chan, Mr. Detective?”

“Please don’t.” Akechi gave a troubled laugh. “I really would rather not.”

Ren still thought it was odd how he got to work with a police detective when he was on probation, but Takemi was asking them to hurry. Ren ended up going first. He played fully into the jester persona, and Takemi proved to be an outstanding photographer. She kept reminding Ren that his role was the tricky jester, that he needed to look a bit more untamed, a bit more flamboyant, pull that leg a bit closer to his body. Right. Good. That’s a good picture!

His individual shoot was over faster than Ren had anticipated. It helped a lot that he was able to fit so smoothly into the role. Akechi, on the other hand, was evidently having a lot more trouble. Ren went to an adjacent room to grab a cup of water, and when he came back, the shoot was still going on, with Takemi taking more time directing Akechi’s pose than taking pictures.

“Akechi-kun, you need to look gentler… No, not your body language, your **face** … Don’t smile THAT much… Remember, you’re an elegant noble! Act more according to the role!”

Ren sipped on his water and watched Akechi and Takemi struggle with each other. Akechi was doing his best impersonation of a noble prince, making poses as Takemi advised. He placed his right hand over his heart and turned his head to the side, portraying the character of a gentle prince. He looked back behind his shoulder with a small smile, giving the impression of an empathetic leader.

But Ren agreed with Takemi.

Akechi’s tall body and elegant limbs were not the problem here. It was his mind. His thoughts did not suit the role of a sweet prince, and his face and eyes showed it. The gentle expression he put on his face looked utterly forced, but if Ren wanted to be honest, Akechi’s entire personally had looked forced since he set eyes on him.

Takemi was not buying this at all though. She stopped taking pictures and instructed Akechi more, telling him imageries and snippets of stories to get him into the role of a virtuous young gentleman, but Akechi still struggled. By now, Ren was starting to sympathise a little. He knew that if he were cast into an innocent prince’s role, he would have struggled as well.

After a while, Takemi stopped talking and stepped back, her arms crossed over her chest. At this rate, Akechi would end the day’s work without yielding any good pictures – a waste of everyone’s time.

It was probably not his place to talk, but maybe Akechi and Takemi needed a little _push_.

“Takemi-san, does Akechi-kun have to be a _gentle_ prince? Can’t he be a different kind of a noble?”

As the photographer turned to him with a sharp glare, Ren instantly regretted speaking up. “Just because you can do mischievous doesn’t mean everyone can! Akechi-kun is meant to complement your character. He is meant to be a paragon of virtue while you are a wild trickster.”

“I… um… A prince can be different things, no, Takemi-san?” Akechi scratched the back of his head and laughed softly, trying to diffuse the tension. “I agree with Amamiya-kun. Can we please try something else? Maybe this isn’t going to work with me.”

“But this is the persona I crafted for you after poring over all of your public photos…” Takemi didn’t want to let her work go to waste, but she gave in for the sake of the photos. “Fine… what kind of a prince do you want to try?”

Akechi hesitated, as though he didn’t think what he wanted to say was appropriate. So Ren said the most non-gentle thing he could think of.

“A prince heading into battle?”

Takemi and Akechi both gave Ren a look. Ren couldn’t tell what Akechi felt towards his suggestion, but Takemi frowned, then sighed, letting her head droop. “Alright, Ren-chan. We might as well try everything now. Akechi-kun, give me your best battle-ready prince.”

Akechi’s body shifted, and Ren sensed something had changed inside the other boy’s head. He had seen it before when dancers and performers got into the right headspace.

Akechi moved his body and leaned his right shoulder forward, extending his left arm back as if he was holding a sword. He bent his right arm at the elbow and held it at chest height in a defensive pose. He lowered his head, letting his long hair fall around his face somewhat, and looked directly into the camera with an iron gaze. His lips lifted in the slightest hint of a smile, except his expression wasn’t sweet at all, but sharp and almost cruel with a type of powerful, terrible delight.

Takemi whistled and whispered in a low voice. “Now that’s _something_. Keep it up, Akechi-kun, and we’ll make a prince out of you yet.”

The photographer and Akechi then immediately got to work. Ren grinned. To think that Akechi would be much more suited for that kind of a role… well, Ren would know. It was almost disconcerting to watch Akechi’s transformation. As Ren thought about how different this was to Akechi’s usual persona, he thought Akechi probably wouldn’t want others to see this. It clashed significantly with the way he usually carried himself. But seeing how appreciative Takemi was, and how fast she was snapping pictures and giving Akechi directions and praises, this could be what Akechi needed to get past this project.

After a while, Ren stepped outside to throw away his disposable cup, only to run into Sakamoto in the corridor. The other teen was in his outfit as well, a dark leather jacket with the zipper half-down, tight black pants, and flat-soled boots. He definitely looked much smarter now than he had in the Shujin uniform.

“Almost done?” Sakamoto jerked his chin towards the room behind Ren. Ren nodded.

“Yeah, we should be done soon.” He looked at Sakamoto from head to toe, seeing how the outfit emphasised the latter’s muscles well. “Your outfit looks great, Sakamoto-san.”

“Thanks. You look really impressive too. And…” Sakamoto chuckled shyly. “You wanna call me Ryuji? You’ve seen Takemi-san. She’s like that with everyone, and it’s hard to not act like we are a big family when we’re in her studio. Ann and I already call each other by our first names, so… what do you think?”

“Um. Sure… Ryuji.” Ren scratched his own chin. “And… yeah, please call me Ren.”

“Awesome!” Ryuji gave him an enthusiastic thumb up. It seemed while Ren’s stage persona oozed mischievous charm, Ryuji became more gregarious the closer he got to the camera. “Oh, and you can head back to the dressing room for a rest while Ann and I have our photoshoot. Hope everything went well for you so far.”

Ren affirmed to Ryuji that everything went very well – and for the first time since setting foot in Tokyo, he really meant it.

He wandered through the rooms of the studio, trying to find the dressing room he used amongst these identical doors. Judging by the photos hanging on the wall, Ren finally figured out which room was his. He was pretty sure he already told the Niijimas he would be back late today, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to send another reminder to the sisters.

Ren cracked open the door and entered his changing room, heading straight for his backpack. But when he opened the bag, he found his phone’s screen was lit, and more, that it was emitting a reddish kind of glow.

“What is that…?”

His phone screen was covered in a massive, pulsing black and red eye, glowering at him in a hallucinatory background of fragmented black and red lines. It wasn’t anything Ren had ever seen before on his phone, and pressing the power button did nothing to erase the imagery.

_‘What in the world?’_

Ren swallowed nervously, stretched out his gloved finger, and poked at his screen.

He instantly felt dizzy. No, more than that, as if he was free-falling from a great height. His bowels lurched and his head felt light. He reached for the ground, but the ground wasn’t there anymore. He kept falling and falling and falling –

“Amamiya-kun.” There was a voice calling him and a door opening. He felt it with his skin rather than hearing it through his ears. It was weird and terrifying. “About the suggestion you made during the shoot just now…”

Ren barely managed to lift up his face. His neck couldn’t move his head up. He was still falling down. Akechi stood at the door in his white outfit and he wasn’t moving even though Ren was moving. Was he falling within Ren? Was _the door_ falling with Ren?

“Amamiya-kun! What’s wrong!”

He saw Akechi run towards him, the white outfit reflected in his retina behind his already closed lids. Ren only managed to croak. His throat felt tight and absolutely perched, even though he knew he had just imbibed an entire cup of water.

“Don’t…”

The last thing he thought of before losing consciousness was the sheer scale of his bad luck in his first two days in Tokyo.

 


	3. The Coming Night

His head hurt.

A LOT.

That simple fact cut through the veil of unconsciousness, as Ren grunted. As he slowly started to wake from whatever had put him under, the hurts multiplied, with the pain in his head proving to be present in the rest of his body as he slowly became aware of it again.  Surprisingly, he noticed he was not lying on the ground, even though his body was stiff and aching all over.

He was.… sitting on a sofa of some sort?

Ren turned his head just a little, hearing his neck creak as he did. _Damn_. He turned his head just a little more and tried to rub his nose on the back of the sofa, only to feel the fabric scraping against some plastic mask sitting on his face.

Right. Mask. Photo shoot.

 _Crap_.

Groggily, Ren cracked open an eye. He was in a dark room, sitting on a sofa that was against all odds actually incredibly comfortable. The seat itself was soft, the armrests - on which his arms had been placed - were covered with a layer of fine fabric, and the back of the sofa matched the curve of his spine with such precision, that he hardly felt it.

There was a table immediately to his left, next to his sofa, and as Ren turned his face towards it, he noted it looked classy. Maybe it was even an antique, with the lamp sitting on top of it casting the desk and Ren's surroundings in a soft, mysterious red light, courtesy of the dark red lampshade with elaborate braided tassels covering the bulb. In the light of the lamp, the sofa he was sitting on seemed dark red as well, though whether it was, or whether it was a trick of the light, he wasn’t quite sure.

Tentatively, he reached out to touch the table, to see what it felt like. He had never been to anywhere as comfortable or posh as this, after all.

And then a hand snaked out from the darkness on the other side of the table and clamped onto his wrist.

Ren jumped at the sudden contact, nearly screaming from the shock of it. He was still wearing the Phantom Thieves outfit, complete with the dark trench coat and the red gloves, layers clothes that hid the fear on his face.

Not that that helped when whoever had his left wrist in an iron grip surely felt it.

That someone leaned into the small circle of red light cast by the lamp – revealing a figure with light brown hair clad in a white outfit, complete with immaculate white gloves, with a red cape completing the ensemble. Said figure was sitting on a sofa identical to the one Ren was on.

Still reeling from all the surprises that had been thrown at it today, Ren's panicking brain didn’t recognize the person, _couldn't_ recognise this person at all.

…until he noticed the ridiculously elongated beak protruding from the red upper half of the other man's face. _S_ omething in his memory stirred at that. _A mask._ Right. A mask… he’d seen that mask before. Just today, in fact.

That was the mask Akechi had worn at the photoshoot. And he -

Ren made a small groan and shook his head. He could have only been awake for minutes at most, and yet the photoshoot in Shibuya already felt like a lifetime away.

"Ake - " He opened his mouth to ask something very pointed only to close it, stiffening as Akechi – if this really was the part-time detective - tightened his grip to something almost painful.

"How are you feeling?" The other spoke. It was Akechi's voice, alright, smooth and _sweet_ , almost cloying, and hearing it Ren's brain stepped back from the precipice of total terror.  Just what had happened? What was going on? He wanted to ask Akechi, because the other boy had evidently woken up before he had. But with Akechi's hand gripping his arm as if he was clinging on for dear life, the entire situation gave him pause.

"I'm… I'm feeling fine." Ren tried to move the rest of his limbs. Everything at least _seemed_ to be in working order, but—

"Good. Please calm down, then look around." Despite the sweetness of his tone, Akechi's words were clearly a command. Ren got the feeling Akechi was trying to say something important to him, while pretending this was all pleasant small talk. "Try to get your bearings, but please do your best to stay quiet."

Slowly, Ren nodded. Akechi's dark red eyes were fixed on his face, and in them Ren saw an echo of what the young detective displayed during his photo shoot - there was something fierce buried there, accentuated even more by the sharp red mask and the red light of the lamp. Cautiously, dreading what he might see, Ren tore his eyes away from Akechi's seated form and looked around.

They were in a vast, dark room, so large that Ren would say it rivalled the size of a large theatre or even a concert hall. Directly in front of them, separated by perhaps twenty rows of seats, was a spacious but empty stage, pallidly lit with a pale white light. Stretching out from the stage were the silhouettes of identical sofas, either clustered in pairs or alone. Next to every sofa, there was a table like the one between Akechi and himself.

And on every table, there was a red lamp, with the exact same lampshade and casting the exact same gleam of red. There were dozens - no, hundreds - of these lamps dotting the darkness all around him, like a field of red spider lilies glowing with otherworldly light, blooming gloriously crimson under a lightless, endless sky.

Ren felt a cold shiver go up his spine. The combination of a pale, empty stage, the countless number of identical sofas and tables, and the uncomfortable red glare of the lamps made his blood run cold with an unexplainable fear, one that even the comfort of the sofa he was sitting on could not alleviate even a little bit.

There were people at all those other sofas. Their conversations were muted and mulled, merging into each other to form a constant and indistinguishable sea of murmuring and voices, making it impossible for Ren to pick out any individual sentences or exchanges. It made him… more than a little uncomfortable.

"Where _are_ we?" Ren whispered in as low a voice as he could manage while still being sure that Akechi could hear him.

"I have no idea," Akechi admitted. For the first time since they met, something other than sweetness seeped into the other boy’s voice. Observations spilled from Akechi’s lips in an analytical, methodical tone. "I can't tell what anyone is talking about, but they are definitely speaking in Japanese. Still, that is not the main issue at hand. All these people here… I don't think they are _people_."

Ren glanced sharply at Akechi. The dark red eyes underneath the red mask narrowed, glinting with a hard determination.

"We need to get out here, as quickly as possible."

"Do you wish to leave us so quickly, dear customer?"

There was a strangely garbled voice, something that seemed have gone into a voice synthesizer and came out on the other end a little funny. Ren was about to question Akechi where that voice came from when he heard the pattering of hurrying feet, and the body of a man dressed in a smart black suit emerged into the circle of light cast by their lamp. The man put his right hand over his heart and gave Ren and Akechi each a small bow, before raising his head, offering what must pass as a _courteous smile_ in this place.

The blood in Ren's veins ran cold. Akechi's grip was so hard on his wrist that his hand was beginning to go numb. This man _had no face. NO FACE._ Ren's mind screamed in horror and confusion as he stared at this mockery of a waiter in front of him, noting that the man's face was a smooth, featureless oval. Featureless except for something that passed for a mouth. And not a human mouth, either, or anything vaguely mammalian - there was no lip, no teeth, no tongue. Said mouth was an opening in an otherwise blank oval of white that moved as the _thing_ pronounced words in Japanese, revealing an interior as black as pitch.

…or as black as the room they were seated in, which set a number of alarm bells ringing in his head very, very stridently.

But just as he was wondering if he was sitting in the mouth of some vast and unknowable entity, the _thing_ spoke again, the black hole on the featureless face splitting into a shape of a crescent moon, the corners tilted upwards in the universal symbol of a smile.

"Please reconsider your decision to leave, most honored customers." The warped voice, sounding as if it was coming through thick water, came out of the hole as the thing continued to speak. "You are permitted to be here due to your significant contribution to our society, as shown through the wealth that you have gained through your hard work. We would hate to see you go before our auction even started. After all, only those who have earned their place can be admitted into Mementos. Surely you do not wish to vacate your seat for those who are less deserving, dear customers?"

"Ahaha. Of course. Of course." Ren's head turned slowly to look at Akechi, who had nodded and picked up the conversation with the thing as if this was all just a friendly chat with a work colleague. "Thank you very much for your concern. We are simply wondering where the exits were."

"There are no such things as entrances or exits in Mementos." The smile faded from that blank face, replaced by a flat line. "Are you two legitimate ticket holders, sir?"

"Yes. Yes!" Akechi gave out one of his crystal clear, charming laughs, which would be almost assuring if Ren didn’t know that the other boy was just as terrified as he was. "It's just… this is the first time we've come here. This is all just… so new."

"Ah. I understand." Though the _thing_ smiled at Akechi’s words, the expression only Ren's skin crawl. "Then please be at ease and simply enjoy the auction tonight. After all, everyone comes to Mementos to have a good time and obtain their hearts' desires. You have earned it in society, haven't you?" With this, the thing turned its head towards Ren, evidently expecting him to answer.

Ren's shins trembled, as his heart beat wildly in his chest. _No. Focus._ He closed his eyes briefly, taking in a long breath as he tensed, only to release the tension as he exhaled, giving him a moment of calm. Under his mask, his features shifted, his posture changed, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in the persona he’d donned back in Takemi's studio. "You can say that again,” he said jauntily, the corner of his mouth tilted into a cocky grin as he crossed his legs, leaning his head back ever so slightly against the back of the sofa.

That act earned him another small bow from the thing.

Once more, it thanked Akechi and Ren for their contributions to society before finally leaving them in peace. When its steps could no longer be heard, Akechi finally let go of Ren's wrist, and Ren winced as he felt the sensation of pins and needles, as blood slowly returned to his bruised flesh. 

"All the _people_ here are like that." Akechi muttered in a small voice, his head lowered. Ren understood what he meant at long last. He also understood why Akechi hadn’t wanted him to ask any questions when he first woke up. These _waiters_ must be listening keenly, ready to act on the first sign of someone planning to leave.

Ren cast a quick look behind him. There were red lights as far back as his eye could see, with no door in sight. Scratch his initial assessment of this hall then. This was not a _hall._  It might as well be an open-air theatre with no beginning or end.

 _Or a prison_ , some part of his mind supplied. That _was_ what one called something with no way out, right?

"How did we get here?" He whispered back to Akechi.

"No idea. I woke up sitting in this sofa, about ten minutes before you did." Akechi sighed on the other end of the table. "The only thing I figured out before you woke up was just that… all these creatures don't seem like people."

Ren looked around him once more, seeing nothing else except for the otherworldly patrons of this _Mementos_ and the stage itself. Speaking of the stage, there seemed to be some activity finally happening on it. About four or five of the faceless serving staff were now carrying display stands and pedestals of varying sizes onto the pale white, while another waiter took a microphone stand and a microphone up to the stage, setting it up as if someone would soon be giving a speech.

"They did say this was 'before the auction started', didn't they?" Ren mused. A glance at Akechi showed that the other boy understood what he was getting at, as Akechi nodded and leaned forward, the angle of his mask glinting in the red light. Ren nodded back at him.

"Let's see what this 'auction' is about, and what we can learn from it."

Trying his best to focus on whatever information he might gleam from this auction, Ren fixed his eyes upon the stage, intending to not miss a single detail. Surely enough, soon multiple waiters stepped onto the stage, with various goods in their hands, carrying them to the display cases and the pedestals their fellows had set up moments prior.

One of the waiters stepped up to the microphone, and just like in any real auction, greeted the audience with its warped voice.

The creature then started to talk about the auction's goods. If Ren had any doubts that this was simply an elaborate masquerade party, then those doubts had thoroughly disappeared, as the goods the waiter spoke about could not possibly exist in real life.

A necklace that promised whoever wore it the power to control an entire District in Japan, a pocket watch that could make everyone obey the wearer, a jacket that would attract anyone of the opposite sex if the wearer so desired. Those things sounded like items straight out of someone's secret fantasy, delusions that could never exist except the recesses of one’s imagination.

But the audience didn’t seem to care that this was impossible. They were totally into it, buying into the reality of this auction, with the murmurs around them rising in volume as the crowds grew more and more excited with every new item introduced, all the way up to the very last.

Oddly enough, compared to the lavish look of the others, this item appeared to be merely a cat carrier with a cat in it.

"What in the world? A cat?" He heard Akechi murmur not too far away. Of the other items so far, none of them had been living creatures. Idly, Ren wondered whether the cat was part of the package, or it was just decoration, since a cat carrier without a cat did leave something to be desired, as far as presentation went….

"And this treasure, useful beyond all others, is guaranteed to provide hope to those around the owner." The faceless thing at the microphone said as it gestured towards the car carrier. "Dear customers, feast your eyes upon this treasure, for it is something that we only rarely come across or even have a chance to see. This vessel of hope is the crowning jewel of this auction. And now, with your permission, we will start the bidding on our first item of the night."

Ren turned to Akechi. He was about to say something to the other boy when a shrill scream pierced through the air.

"HELP ME! HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEE!!"

Ren jumped in his chair for real this time, with Akechi also letting out a surprised gasp. The two boys looked frantically all around them, trying to pinpoint the source of the scream, but to no avail. In fact, no one else even seemed to have heard it. The serving staff, who had so swiftly appeared when Akechi spoke of leaving, seemed to be completely unperturbed by this loud screaming.

Something moved at the periphery of Ren's vision. Something long and sinewy was moving. Turning around, he discovered it was the tail of the cat who was sitting in the cat carrier, the 'crowning jewel of the auction'. The cat had his front paws and its head out of the car carrier as well, and to Ren's surprise, he realized the cat's mouth was open - and it was the one howling.

He reached out and tapped Akechi's hand. "The cat." He said when Akechi turned his eyes to him. "The cat on the stage - he's the one yelling."

"What?" Disbelief was evident on Akechi's face. He took a look at the stage and made a dismissive shake of his head. "Given the circumstances, the cat is probably a demon."

"Please!! Help me!!" The cat was still going on and on. None of the faceless beings seemed to care about its screeching. "I know how to get out of here! Please!! Help me, and I can help you!"

Akechi paused and turned to Ren. "Did you hear that?"

"It's the cat." Ren reinstated what he had said before. "The cat on the stage is the one saying this."

Akechi still didn't move.

"Is there not ONE HUMAN OUT THERE?!" The cat yelled again. The voice was, strangely, not garbled like that of the faceless waiters. "If there are any humans here, help me, and I can help you out of this place! Please don't let me be sold off to some Shadow! Please come and take me away from this stage!"

"So… the patrons and staff of this place aren’t humans. That much is confirmed." Akechi mused to himself.

"We need to help that cat." Ren said decisively. "If what he said is true, then he is our best hope… of returning to Tokyo."

"How ironic, given those things are calling the cat a treasure of hope." Akechi made an affirmative hum. "How do you want to save him?"

"He wants us to take him off the stage. If that's all it counts as saving him, then we can sneak up along the sides of these sofas." Ren surmised. "I wonder what it's like backstage. The back of the stage seems to just be black fabric. Based on what it's like behind those black curtains, we might be able to sneak back there and take the cat off its pedestal."

"I'll follow your advice then. You've done plays. You should know your way around a stage." Akechi nodded.

Ren made a questioning noise.

"I looked up your name this morning after I received information about my co-workers." Akechi's sweet smile and voice was momentarily back. "My apologies."

Ren just shook his head. Akechi might well have discovered his criminal records then. But this was not the time to consider such things.

With a wave of his hand, Ren gestured for Akechi to follow him and left his seat, crouching low on the ground. He was glad of the dark clothes Takemi chose for him… though as that thought crossed his mind, he gave Akechi a pointed look.

"Can you sneak in those white clothes?" He questioned. "Or do you want to wait here while I get the cat?"

"I didn't choose these clothes…" Akechi muttered darkly. "And I really would rather not be left alone in this bizarre place. I can be discreet, despite the white clothes."

There was little Ren could do but to trust Akechi on that. Crouching as low as possible, he started the slow and careful process of sneaking towards the stage. The place was so dark that as long as he kept out of the red light of the individual lamps, nobody noticed his movements. He managed to sneak all the way up to the stage with Akechi in tow. Thankfully, the stairs leading up to the backstage were also enveloped in darkness. With a gesture for Akechi to follow, Ren parted the thick dark curtains and snuck in.

"Hey! What are you doing here!"

Ren froze. There were two faceless men backstage, standing not too far from him. Judging from their dress, they must have been guards. They simultaneously raised their arms, with Ren seeing that they both held guns in their hands.

"Thief! Robber! You are to be shot on sight!"

As if life was suddenly happening at half speed, Ren saw one guard's finger unlocking the safety of his gun, saw the creature level his arm, saw it getting ready to shoot. Ren had never had a real gun being aimed at him before, but he knew the implications of what he was seeing, clear as day.

At that moment, all Ren wanted was to keep living.

He didn't care how bad his Tokyo probation had gone so far, didn't care how nothing seemed to have worked out. He just wanted to go back and keep living. He didn't want to get crushed again by an unjust power wielded by those who are in control.

Before he realised it, there was something in his hands, and he was already swinging it towards the nearest guard with the full weight of his body behind it.

Idly, he noticed that his weapon was a handbag, an expensive-looking flat and square thing on plain brown leather straps. But he reconsidered his observation when the handbag hit the guard as if it was a flail made of raw iron. There was a solid crunch, before the guard's head exploded into a rancid mist of black ooze and red slime.

Had he… had he just killed someone? No, there were no bones, no flesh, only a glimmer of black light that came out of his bag as the head dissipated into a fog. The headless body immediately followed, vanishing as if it had never existed to begin with.

The remaining guard froze momentarily in confusion, but recovered after just a moment's pause, lunging towards Ren, which it clearly saw as dangerous.

Ren tried to dodge out of the way, but he wasn’t fast enough, as the guard managed to grab his shoulders, slamming him to the floor. Ren struggled valiantly to break the hold, but the guard weighed way more than a normal human should.

The more he struggled, the tighter the creature’s grip became, until Ren felt his bones beginning to _creak_. If this kept up, his bones were going to break. _He_ was going to break.

It was at that moment that Akechi leapt at the guard with a yell, a black briefcase in hand. With a sharp flick of his wrist, Akechi swung the briefcase into the back of the guard's head. The guard, caught by surprise, crumpled to the ground like an empty sack, only for Akechi to grind the end of his briefcase into the guard’s head, until the guard – the corpse – vanished.

In the silence that followed, Ren and Akechi could make out some concerned voices from out on the stage. It didn’t take long for them to realize that the rest of the staff must have figured out that something was going on. The two of them nodded at each other, then burst out onto the stage at the same time, their weapons – bags – of choice still in hand.

Ren saw where the cat was immediately and rushed towards it, scooping up the cat carrier and holding it close to his body. The waiters were urgently calling each up to bring backup, to get more guards up here. Shouts of ‘Thieves!” “A robbery!” “Criminals!” were ringing through the air. The murmuring of the audience was turning into a wave of anger and discontent.

In all this, Ren stared at the demon(?) cat he was cradling inside this cat carrier. He’d gotten the cat, but now what?

“How do we get out of here?” He demanded none too gently. He couldn’t stand here too long, or more of those _things_ would come.

"Thank goodness! Humans!" The little thing shrieked. "Quick! Take out your tickets!"

"Tickets…?!" Ren and Akechi looked at each other for a split second. The faceless waiter had said something about ‘legitimate ticket holder’ too, but Ren had no idea what it had meant.

From the corner of his eye, Ren could see more guards and waiters rushing towards the stage from the audience seats. Akechi was waving his dark briefcase menacingly at the waiters, holding them at bay, but he couldn’t hold them back forever.

"The thing you used to get in here!!!" The cat became even more agitated.

How they got in there… _right, his phone!_

Ren pulled his phone from his pant pockets, barely managing to hold on to the bags he was carrying. Sure enough, his phone screen still looked as eerie as before, displaying radiating lines of black and red with an eye at the centre.

"Say to your phone that you wish to leave Mementos! Hurry!" The cat was all but screaming now. Hearing this, Akechi scooted a little closer to them, no doubt thinking this would be their way out.

"I wish to leave Mementos!' Affected by the cat’s panic and by the surety that doom was upon him if he didn’t _get out_ now, Ren screamed the words as loud as he could into the phone, praying it was going to work.

His vision instantly went dark.

The bright stage, the faceless guards drawing near - they were all swallowed up by darkness. When he opened his eyes this time, he was sitting on the floor of his dressing room. His own bag was in front of him, and Akechi was sitting opposite him, panting as if he had just run a mile. There was a black cat in Ren's arms, and his phone was back to normal - except for an app icon with a red and black eye staring at him unblinkingly from his home screen.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

 

Ren wasn’t surprised to find that hardly a minute had passed since Akechi first came into his dressing room in real life. He didn’t know whether he could ever be surprised again.

The black cat had taken refuge in Ren’s bag immediately, opting to hide when Takemi’s staff came to check on them. Ren and Akechi tried to pull through the rest of the afternoon's shoots, but it was obvious their hearts were no longer in it. Thankfully, their individual shots in the morning had been good enough, and Ann and Ryuji managed to drag the team through Takemi’s scrutinizing gaze during the group shots.

Ren knew for sure that he couldn’t think of anything but the terrifying experience he’d had in that strange place.

Where had they been? What was that place even about? Had they truly gone to somewhere beyond reality? Ren had no answers to any of these questions. He was so distracted that when Ryuji came up to him as they had finished with the shooting for the day, he was confused as to why the blond was talking to him, before finally remembering that he had agreed to go out for dinner with Ryuji and Ann.

Internally, he groaned – he was in no mood to deal with others right now. All Ren wanted at this very moment was to question that cat hiding in his bag and to find out why the hell he’d almost died.

But it seemed that fortune, for once, favored him, as Ryuji spoke.

“Hey, man… remember how Ann and I asked if you can come to dinner with us? Sorry. Ann and I have to bail.” Ryuji scratched the back of his head. “We… have to go somewhere. Maybe next time.”

Ren looked behind Ryuji, noticing Ann was on her phone, taking and gesturing emotionally as she paced up and down the room. Judging from the deep frown on her face, she was not having a pleasant conversation.

“Something wrong?” Akechi’s sweet voice sounded close by Ren’s ears. The other boy must have finished packing up too. Ren suspected he wanted to question the cat as much as Ren did.

“No… nothing.” Ryuji squeezed out a forced smile, but he was not fooling anyone here. “I’m gonna go help Ann take care of some stuff. See you guys later. It was great working with you!”

With that, Ryuji ambled off. For the first time, Ren noticed he was walking with a small limp. It wasn’t greatly affecting his gait, but it was definitely there. He wondered just how Ryuji had gotten into modelling with that bad leg.

“Should we go somewhere quieter to talk?” This time, it was Akechi who came up from behind Ren and broke the silence. “I would be very interested to… talk to _it_.” He nudged Ren’s bag for emphasis as the cat inside squeaked in protest.

Ren gestured with his head for Akechi to come outside with him. He didn’t want to explain to Takemi’s staff how he’d arrived without a cat but was now walking out with one. Once on the busy streets of Shibuya, Ren led Akechi a few doors down from Takemi’s studio, then turned and shifted his bag from his back to his front.

“Alright.” He said to the moving lump in his bag. “I’m going to open the bag now. Please explain everything to us, cat.”

When the cat poked its head out of the bag, Ren was startled by its big blue eyes. All things considered, it was quite a pretty cat, its black fur smooth and gleaming and its round face looking rather cute. But when it opened its mouth, it was the sound of a young man that came out of its mouth, not a meow or even a nya.

“Firstly, I’m not a cat. My name is Morgana, and I’m just as much a human as you are.” The little thing was positively pouting in displeasure. “Secondly, I’m hungry. I say we get something to eat, and then I can explain everything over food.”

Ren frowned and was about to protest, but Akechi nodded and put on his charming smile. “Of course. I feel like a bit of sushi myself for dinner.”

“Sushi?? Did you say sushi? I love sushi!” The cat – Morgana – immediately sounded very excited. Ren looked over at Akechi to see a mischievous glint in the other boy’s eyes. Perhaps Akechi was actually into sushi, or perhaps this was just a plot to get their feline friend to spill the beans more quickly.

Ren sighed. It seemed dinner plans had already been made for him. “Lead the way then, Akechi-kun. Let’s head to a sushi place.”

Akechi gave him a winning smile and started to head off. Ren clutched his phone tight, sending a text to Niijima Sae to let her know his plans for tonight. Akechi might be a detective on the side of the law, but they had only known each other for a few hours, otherworldly experience aside. He would rather have his guardian know who he was with when Ren could barely find his way around Tokyo.

Following the enigmatic detective and carrying what was most likely a demonic cat in his bag, Ren walked deeper into the coming night.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-

 

_My dearest Trickster… we finally meet again._

_Though you wouldn't remember me, we have fought for so long and so far together through much ruin, searching for a time where this truly unjust game would not be rigged._

_You have no memories of this, but we have stood together through the millions of bad ends we have witnessed, until we finally came to this place, where the odds are finally fixed in our favour._

_As the price, now you can barely hear my master’s voice and mine._

_You can do it though. I believe you. You have overcome so many challenges – but ah, yes, those were not **you**. Those other attempts where not **you** as who you are. You have just started on your journey, unaware of everything **you** have already done, of what **you**_ _will become._

_Sometimes I find myself consumed with worry for you. The world had changed so much this time around, the architecture of the Metaverse completely re-written. Will you adjust despite the altered odds? Will you find the truth despite the extra concealments our enemy had invested in?_

_No. I believe you. I must believe you. You have already reunited with the hope of mankind, after all._

_Please win this game once again, my dear Trickster. We are all depending on you._

 

 

 


	4. Fateful Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with this ridiculous premise so far! For those who have noted the absurdity of using designer bags to whack Shadows - this story is called Purse Owners. What were you expecting? XD
> 
> In all honesty though, it started off as a dry pun for how the voice actors yelled 'PERSONA' in the canon game, and it kind of spiralled off from there.
> 
> I'm also using a lot of ideas from the initial (later scrapped) design of Persona 5, such as Sae being Ren's guardian for the year. At this rate, this story will become a re-telling of the canon with a VERY different flavour and theme.
> 
> Lastly, I would like to thank my beta, Alf, for tirelessly working with my irregular updating schedule and working through my drafts with me.
> 
> For now, we continue on our wild ride.

****_No matter who Akechi is, his taste in food is pretty good._ Ren silently made note of this as he munched away at the delicious - and reasonably priced - sushi on the table.

Hiding in the bag between Ren and the wall, the cat - Morgana - had his face screwed up in an expression of utter bliss, thoroughly enjoying the sashimi that Ren and Akechi had specifically ordered for his consumption. The cat was probably trying hard to hold back words of praise or pleasure. As well he should, for when the boys realized that other people heard Morgana's words as cat meows, they quickly made sure the cat would stay quiet, lest they were kicked out of the shop.

"I see you two are both enjoying the food." Akechi, sitting opposite Ren, flashed a charming smile as he took a sip of his tea, causing a waitress who happened to walk past to look back towards their table and blush.

Ren thought he had this boy before him somewhat figured out. Under normal circumstances, Akechi seemed like charm incarnate, with his pleasant demeanour a default persona that fitted him like a tight glove. He even had a great way with words - in public, at least – talking in such an easy and affable way that most people positively fawned over him.

And then there was Akechi's signature smile, a mask of saccharine sweetness. It was something Ren could already easily identify, for he knew that as soon as that smile hit, Akechi was pulling the ends of the 'pleasant boy personality' tighter around himself, as if it was a cloak that he was using to fight off rain.

But Ren knew better than to be deceived by that smile. He remembered the cruel and merciless grin that graced Akechi's lips at Takemi's studio, remembered the analytical and fierce gaze that greeted him across the vermillion lamp light. There was far more to Akechi than the young detective deigned to show the world, and Ren _knew_ that few had ever seen those hidden, less-than-pleasant aspects of the young man.

Not that Ren honestly thought – didn’t even dare to think – that Akechi had _decided_ to show this much of himself in less than one day. But then, Akechi hadn’t _chosen_ to go exploring an otherworldly cavern (Hall? Stage? Whatever that dark place had been…) with an acquaintance he had just met.

And when it was a matter of life or death in the hands of faceless "Shadows" - well, Ren didn’t think anyone would have enough mental capacity to waste on a pleasant façade.

Not even Akechi, who Ren had come to realise was almost always acting.

Back in the present though, Morgana’s only response to Akechi’s statement was a moan of utter bliss, his pink tongue darting out quickly lick his lips.

"Well, in that case…" Akechi softly put his teacup down on the table, gently enough that it made no sound at all.  That sort of consideration and care seemed almost natural, yet Ren couldn’t help but remember how Akechi had savagely thrown himself at the faceless guard with a guttural yell. "If you can start explaining Mementos, Morgana…. It would be greatly appreciated."

The cat appeared to be a much happier mood now it had been fed. Opening his big blue eyes wide, he stretched his front legs then sat up, ready for a serious conversation.

"Alright. Let me try to explain this," Morgana said, nodding to himself. "I will start from the very beginning, Ren, Akechi." The cat took a deep breath as if for calm, before shaking its head. "The place you just went to - Mementos - is a place made of humanity's cognition."

Akechi raised an elegant eyebrow. Ren just looked at the cat blankly.

"This might be hard for you to believe, but there are multiple layers of reality," Morgana continued, not too concerned about the boys' confusion. "The physical world is where humans normally reside, but there are other layers, made from different powers and facets of existence. Mementos is the centre of the Metaverse, and the Metaverse is a copy of the physical world but made from and reflecting human cognition."

Akechi slowly nodded, gesturing for the cat to continue.

"The Metaverse might look like reality, but it is a reflection of what people believe." Morgana nodded to himself. "For example, if all of humanity believed someone to be immortal, then that person would actually be immortal in the Metaverse, even if they were just an ordinary human in the physical world. "

"I see. A world where beliefs matter more than facts, is it?" Akechi hummed.

“Mhm,” Morgana acknowledged, before continuing. "The faceless customers and staff you saw at Mementos are called 'Shadows'. They are sometimes cognitive representations of real people, sometimes just a common belief of the masses, and sometimes fragments of raw emotion shared by certain people. They are, I guess, _demons_ in a way of speaking, given that they are emotions given physical form."

"… and why does the place look like an auction house?" Akechi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Different parts of Mementos have slightly different rules." Morgana scratched his own ears just like a real cat. "Mementos itself is a place where Shadows go to obtain their hearts' desires and take that back with them to their own corner of the Metaverse. That auction house is probably a place where Shadow could literally use parts of their existence as a currency to bid for items that can give them powers."

“Items that can give them powers, huh?” Ren bent down and looked at the cat square in the eyes. "Then, what does that make you, Mister ’Vessel of Hope’?"

"Like I said, I'm a human!" Morgana huffed in displeasure. "I have a full set of human emotions and vague memories of being human, which these Shadows don't have!"

"But you’re a cat in the real world," Ren pointed out. “So…”

"I don't understand it myself…" Morgana lowered his eyes. "I know I can actually be humanoid in the Metaverse, but when you found me in Mementos, I couldn't change into that form. I could only be a cat. And here… I have distinct memories of being human, with a human body, doing human things like shopping and dressing… but for some reason, I'm just a cat now."

There was such a feeling of loss and sorrow in Morgana's little voice, that Ren couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic to his plight.

"And could you please explain _how_ we managed to beat those Shadows in the auction house?" Akechi tilted his head. "Amamiya-kun and I got some strange briefcases and bags out of nowhere, and those bags managed to eliminate the Shadows with one swing. What was that about?"

"Ah!" Morgana instantly perked up. "That's one of the good things that happened to you! You guys were modelling this afternoon, right? The Metaverse operates based on people's cognitions, so when you entered in the auction house in your fancy clothes, the Shadows there thought you were rich and famous. And when you wanted to defend yourself, the Metaverse materialised something that the Shadows were guaranteed to submit to - luxury items! You might not realise it, but the bags you created with your strong desire of survival were designer handbags. That apparent wealth and power was what destroyed the Shadows in your way!"

Absolute silence fell over the table.

Ren felt his face twitch.

"So…" Akechi said with a completely flat voice, "we just created designer handbags out of thin air and used those to whack apart these Shadows?"

"Yep!" Morgana nodded enthusiastically. "And based on what I understand, you can use this kind of power in real life as well!”

“What.” Akechi deadpanned.

“Mhm. So now that you have a phone app that taps into the power of the Metaverse, if you dress up in luxury - or even counterfeit luxury - you can affect people’s cognitions in reality.” Morgana closed his eyes in a smile, completely unaffected by the tone of disbelief in Akechi’s voice.

"As a member of the police force, what you have just described sounds extremely liable to abuse." Akechi muttered slowly.

“Not as much as you’d think. It’s not every day that people manage to break through the separation between real world and the Metaverse,” Morgana countered. “You must be somewhat special to have managed that.”

“And what does that make _you_?” Akechi evidently wasn’t going to let Morgana go that easily. “You seem to have crossed that line a few times already.”

“Like I said, I was human once, and I have no idea how I ended up being like… this.” If Morgana had a human face, Ren knew he would be wearing a frown right now. “But please believe what I just said. Most Shadows don’t even know the rules in the Metaverse. I’m telling you as much as I know as thanks for getting me out of there. Even if I’m going to be a cat for the rest of my existence, it feels better to live in this world than in the Metaverse – Shadows make humans unsettled. You know what I mean, right?”

Ren nodded. No matter how kindly those Shadows might have acted, just being in their presence had been a rather chilling experience.

Akechi gave a soft sigh.

"So, what do you want us to do with you, Morgana?" The detective asked. Ren was actually wondering the same thing - what were they going to do with the cat?

"Well… I really really want to return to being human," the cat muttered. "You understand my situation, don't you? I have memories of being a human, but I barely remember who I was, my family and friends, where I came from…” Morgana trailed off.  “I would love to get those back. But even more…”

He wanted to become human again, something which was plain to see." You… want us to help you do that, don't you?" Ren asked gently. Morgana nodded eagerly.

"I do! I want it more than anything! What if we make a deal? I know I lost myself in Mementos – what if I help you as much as I can with my knowledge of the Metaverse, and you can help me to look for a way to turn myself back to human!"

"What do we get out of it?" Akechi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well… you would have access to the Metaverse without being negatively affected by it." Morgana offered. "Based on what I know, humans usually can't stay human once they come into contact with the Metaverse. Just look at me. But if you could, you could solve some of the insurmountable problems in life via the Metaverse. You could even learn the secrets of other people. The secrets of the whole world, even! Nothing would be hidden!"

Akechi frowned, glancing at Ren, who could tell from the other's expression that he didn't like what Morgana was suggesting.

In a way, he understood what Akechi was afraid of. This sort of power sounded extremely abusable in the wrong hands. However… it might solve some of Ren's own problems. After all, to this day, he wasn’t aware of the identity of the politician who had framed him and ruined his name…

"Honestly, I understand what you're saying, Morgana, but what you are proposing is truly out of the realm of normal possibilities." Akechi's voice had affected that saccharine tone once more, which Ren knew heralded a polite refusal. "I really think it might be better if I take you back to the police station and let some of my more knowledgeable superiors handle your concerns."

"What? No! You just saved me from being given to unknown parties. I'm not going to be given to someone I don't know yet again!" Morgana positively shrank away from Akechi.

"But there is very little we can do - " Akechi's brows were furrowed, making the boy look troubled, though Ren could tell the mask of concern was just another lie. After all, whenever Akechi said something in his fake, nice-boy persona to brush someone off, his eyes were always expressionless, and – thanks to his theatre and dance background – Ren could tell his mouth never really looked natural.

When his eyes were narrowed and the corners of his mouth turned down in a small frown - that would be when the real Akechi was hard at work, deep in thought about the issue at hand.

It was at this time, that the waitress who had walked past them before was coming around again, this time leading some customers to another table. The waitress turned to flash Akechi another smile - one the detective began to return - just as the two customers behind her noticed who she was looking at and did a double-take.

"Ren! Akechi-san! What the hell?!"

Ren blinked, hardly able to believe his eyes. It seemed that today’s long list of surprises was truly never-ending, for before him stood Ryuji and Ann. Something was off though. Ann's eyes were red, as if she’d been… crying. Or something. Something had happened to the girl, even if he didn’t know what

"Hey, we know these people." Ryuji said, turning to the waitress. "Can we sit with them?"

Prompted by a small smile from Akechi, the waitress agreed, allowing the two newcomers to join Ren and Akechi at their table. Well, their booth, really, which featured two sofa seats on two sides of the table.

It would have been the sensible thing for one to go either side, but Ann only shook her head as she clung to Ryuji's sleeve. Akechi and Ren shared a look, and after seeing that she wouldn’t separate herself from the other blond, Akechi stood up and moved over to Ren's side, taking his plate and cutlery with him, with the two newcomers sliding into the spot he’d vacated

Sadly, for Morgana, the bag with him in it was squashed even further against the wall to make space for Akechi.

"What happened?" After the waitress came with two sets of cutlery for Ryuji and Ann, Ren carefully breached the question. He glanced at Akechi to see what the other boy thought, but the detective’s face was utterly blank.

"I… Look, it's completely effed up." Ryuji shook his head and tried to pry Ann's hands off his jacket sleeve, only to fail as he had a dozen times before. "Ann. Ann. It's alright. You don't have to hold on me to me anymore."

The Caucasian girl only shook her head at that. When she spoke, Ren's suspicions about her having spent some time crying were confirmed, as her voice was hoarse and raspy. Clearly, she’d been sobbing for a while, but why? "No… No… what if he comes back… what if he calls again…"

"He won't. I scared him off, alright? Ann…" Ren couldn't quite tell whether Ryuji and Ann were dating. There was an extreme level of familiarity between them, yet their body language didn’t seem quite as intimate as that of a couple in a relationship. Even now, Ann was only holding on to Ryuji's clothes, instead of his arm. And instead of brushing her cheek with his fingers to comfort her, or rubbing her head, Ryuji only patted her shoulder. "It's okay now. We're out in public. Ren and Akechi-kun are here too."

"What _exactly_ is going on?" Akechi requested again in a soft, but firm, voice. "Is someone harassing you, Takamaki-san?"

"You could say that again." Ryuji sighed. "Look, you are a famous prodigy detective, aren't you? At our school, Shujin Academy, there is this real scum– "

"No!" Ann let out a raspy exclamation and pulled at Ryuji's sleeve. "No! What if he knows we told the police? Then Shiho –"

"If we don't tell the police, then things will only get worse!" Ryuji said, gritting his teeth. It was clear he felt powerless here, and was desperate to try and do _something_ , no matter how low the chance of it helping really was.

"But someone always called the police when things happened before, and the police never did anything!" Ann countered. "Even with your leg…"

Next to Ren, Akechi took out his phone. "Sakamoto-san, Takamaki-san, please explain what is going on. Alternatively, I suppose I could look up what happened Shujin and figure out who you are trying to talk about from there, but it would be easier on everyone if you just told us w. You can trust me. I am a detective, after all."

In the silence after the boy’s speech, Ren heard Akechi let out a questioning _hmm and_ looked over, only to see a familiar and not entirely welcome sight: an app with a red eye and black lines radiating out of it.

The same app that had appeared on Ren's phone, and that had been responsible for sending them to Mementos.

Ann and Ryuji didn't seem to notice, but then it was hard to tell since they didn’t reply at all. Ren felt someone might need to break the ice.

"You know, no one explained what this business about you being a detective was about." Ren directed his attention to Akechi. "How did you end up being…" He made a sweeping motion with his arm, as he had no idea if Akechi was wearing even more hats. "…or rather, doing all this?"

Ryuji gave Ren an unimpressed look. "Man, you must really not watch TV or go online much. This guy here is the latest media darling of the Japanese police system. He's been on lots of TV shows as a prodigy teenager who solved cases on his own, gave assistance to the police, and then got accepted to do part time work as a real detective while still being in high school."

"I did only start making public appearances about three months ago," Akechi interjected with a soft laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised if Amamiya-kun hadn't heard of me before today, given the timing."

Three months, huh? That would have been right about the time when Ren got involved in the miserable business of that night. In that case, it was no wonder he hadn't heard of Akechi – he’d barely had any time for anything besides getting his affairs in order during these months. And even if he had, watching a show about the police would probably have been the furthest thing from his mind.

Though… if he’d had any doubts about whether Akechi knew of his criminal record, those doubts had been firmly banished.  With one sentence, the detective/model had let on that he knew what Ren had been busy with over the past three months without spelling everything out.

"It's… it's not like I'm doubting you as a detective or anything, Akechi-kun." Across the table, Ann sniffed, her nose scrunching up in dismay. She seemed to have finally calmed down a little, though her mood wasn’t much improved. "But I really don't know if you can do anything… we tried going to the police, but they refused to do anything whatsoever."

"Try me." Akechi crossed his arms, and Ren could hear the boy’s true feelings coming through as he put his figurative detective hat on. "What's going on?"

Ryuji looked at Ann, who was still shaking her head. "I'll give you the short version of it, at least with the shit that happened tonight." He paused, as if to collect his thoughts, then began again. "One of the male teachers is blackmailing Ann to get her to sleep with him."

"That's crazy." Ren muttered darkly. He even felt Morgana shift in the bag next to his side. "Who is he, and what does he have on you?"

"That's the most sickening part of it. He doesn't have anything on Ann. He's threatening to hurt Ann's friend if she doesn't listen to him." Ryuji clutched his hand into a fist and ground his knuckles on the table. "He's a very respected teacher. It wouldn't be wrong to say all of Shujin Academy looks up to him and are helping to hide his shitty behaviour, which is why all this crap is still going on!"

"Have you tried the local education board?" Ren was trying to offer something useful to Ryuji.

"They won't listen." Ryuji shook his head. "They won't hear about students accusing their _honourable teacher._ "

"Just because he's your teacher doesn't mean he has the right to abuse a woman like that!"

Ren blinked, looking over at Akechi, as he hadn’t expected the other boy to make such an outburst. Sure enough, Akechi’s face was flushed red, and his gaze was oddly intense. Apparently, the others hadn’t expected it either, as they, too, were looking at Akechi in surprise.

As if realising too late what he’d done, the detective's hand flew to his mouth, and he let out a painfully forced laugh.

"I… haha… I'm sorry. Haha. I don't know what took over me!" Akechi said, shaking his head, his features softening into his usual mask, as if to try and get the others to dismiss his momentary lapse in control.

But nobody said a thing.

Ren didn't know what the others might be thinking. He was too busy being stunned from seeing Akechi so… intense, so invested in something that it had shattered his facade. It was the first time he’d seen an unprovoked crack in the boy’s demeanour, a misstep in the carefully staged and controlled show he put on for the world to see.

"I… woah." Ryuji was the first one to open his mouth. "Dude, that was intense!"

Akechi blinked and looked down, taking a few deep breathes, as if trying to get his emotions under control.

"In any case, that is far worse than I had thought it would be." When Akechi spoke again, his voice was much calmer and softer than before.

"I really don't know whether we should tell you guys any of this…" Ann's head was lowered as she mumbled. "If he got wind of this, then not only Shiho, but the entire volleyball team would be hurt further…"

"This is about Kamoshida Suguru, isn't it?" Akechi said flatly.

"I - I - " Ann stuttered, her face rapidly growing red.

"Takamaki-san - " Akechi started again, but Ann interrupted him with an upraised hand.

"Please… please stop calling me Takamaki-san." Ann was quivering a little as she spoke. "I’ve had enough of _him_ calling me by that name tonight. That name… it just reminds me too much of him."

"Um, o-okay." Akechi looked genuinely flustered. "Um, errr… Ann-chan?"

"How… how did you figure it out?" Ryuji looked from Ann to Akechi, puzzled.

"I _am_ a detective, after all." Akechi smiled sweetly, but then his face became serious again. "More importantly, I know many of the staff from Shujin Academy. You mentioned the volleyball team, so I figured it had to do with teachers who were in charge of sports clubs. And out of all the physical education teachers in Shujin… none can rival Kamoshida Suguru in terms of fame, who was once an Olympian on the Japanese national men's volleyball team."

"He's a massive scumbag. I can't believe the principal is protecting him this much." Ryuji positively growled.

"Kamoshida's presence in Shujin is a massive draw for investors and brand-aware parents." Akechi tapped the table softly. "It is a great PR move for the school to have hired him. Your principal - Kobayakawa-san, if I recall correctly - is a very shrewd and political man, hoping to climb up the ladder of the Ministry of Education. It is of benefit to him to prevent people from uncovering any scandals about Kamoshida."

"You seem to know a lot about Shujin." Ren observed. He was quite sure Akechi did not attend his school.

"One of my close colleagues is Niijima Sae-san, who is, as… Ann-chan and… Ryuji…kun?" Akechi actually grimaced when he said those names, as if the act caused him great pain, but Ann was nodding enthusiastically for him to continue, so there was little he could do. "As you two might know, Sae-san is the elder sister of Niijima Makoto, the president of Shujin's Student Council. Naturally, I know a fair bit about Shujin Academy… and also, I hate to say this, but Kobayakawa-san's political ambitions are known even to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police."

Ren blinked rapidly. Akechi knew the Niijima sisters?! This world was far smaller than he thought…

"So, what can you do about it?" Ryuji frowned.

"On my own? Very little. I would have to check out files in the police station tomorrow. " Akechi mused. "If students have lodged complaints multiple times, these must be on file somewhere. Someone must have suppressed them if these complaints ever made it to the police system."

"We know that the school doctor called the police about Ryuji's leg…" Ann muttered darkly.

"What happened to your leg?" Ren asked, remembering the limp he observed with Ryuji.

"Well… you two are gonna to hear it sooner or later, so I might as well explain it myself." Ryuji shook his head. "Kamoshida… that filth… he kept baiting me, insulting my Mum, until I couldn't hold it back anymore and took a swing at him. Hardly hit him, but as _self-defence_ , he broke my leg."

Ren choked on thin air. Never had he imagined that someone calling himself a teacher could bring himself to do such a thing to his students. This… this Kamoshida… he was a monster.

"Insulting your Mum? I didn't think a national athlete would be so immature…" Akechi frowned.

"He… my parents are divorced cos my father was a useless dick. My Mum is raising me alone." Ryuji muttered.

"I see…" Akechi made an unhappy hum. "Insulting single mothers… He is indeed a piece of shit."

Ann chuckled at that, a fragile, small sound, but a sound of mirth nonetheless. It seemed her spirit had recovered somewhat. "You know, I never thought I'd hear you swear. That totally goes against your image in public."

"Well, I do have a public image to maintain, so I would appreciate it if you don't spread this news around." Akechi quipped with a quiet laugh of his own. "But police work isn't easy. We see a lot of crap as detectives. But Kamoshida… He sounds like someone who deserves to be brought to justice at any cost. I suggest we meet up again tomorrow after school, after I had a chance to look over things at work. Does that sound like a plan?"

"You work for the police during school hours?" Ryuji stared at Akechi.

"It can't be helped. The police have an arrangement with my school for me that allows me to excuse myself from class when necessary. In exchange, I sometimes get schoolwork sent home." Akechi shook his head softly. "It's part of what I have to live with as a police intern and junior detective."

"Aren't you in your final year of high school?” Ann inquired. “There must be a lot of schoolwork. And what about university? Will you continue to work this hard during entrance exams?" Ren could tell Ann had a natural tendency to care about others' plight and the talk about Akechi seemed to have distracted her from her own issues quite thoroughly.

"I… I try not to think too hard about university entrance exams, but I am going to cram school and taking mock exams to prepare for them." Akechi stated. Ann frowned.

"You have cram school and mock exams as well? I honestly hope you take a break for yourself, A… um… can I call you Goro-san?" Ann raised her head, looking timidly at Akechi.

Akechi only sighed. "Takemi-san is going to insist on calling everyone by their first names during this project, isn't she? Is there a way for me to get out of this? I… I am really not used to being called by my first name."

"I could call you Goro-senpai to make the transition easier." Ren offered cheekily.

Akechi’s response was to kick him - under the table, where no one could see.

"Well, um, Go… Goro-san?" Seeing no resistance from Akechi, Ann continued. "even though you are working a lot for the benefit of society, please take some time for yourself. It wouldn't do for you to collapse from overwork."

"I won't. I have more important things to do than to collapse." Akechi said with a faux-cheerful expression, but even so, he straightened his back and raised his head a little. "If I collapsed, there would be one less person left to take down criminals, would it?"

The rest of dinner passed in relative normalcy, with Ann and Ryuji ordering, and the four of them getting to know each other over food. Apparently, Ann and Ryuji had known each other since middle school, and Ann was the one who introduced Ryuji to the modelling trade, since the boy had been looking for ways to complement his family's income. Akechi - _no. Goro-senpai –_ Ren corrected himself with a mischievous grin – had gotten into modelling based on a colleague's recommendation and was mostly after the money as well. It seemed that being a junior detective didn't pay very well.

Not that that was the only interesting thing about the evening, as the three Tokyo locals expressed immense curiosity at hearing about Ren's history in showbiz. It seemed he was the one with the most experience in this industry.

Eventually though, Ren and Akechi _\- Goro-senpai. Ok, this might take a while to stick_ \- ended up excusing themselves, leaving Ryuji to make sure Ann got home safely. Once they were outside, Akechi took a deep breath.

"Talk about a small world, huh. Never thought those two would walk into the same restaurant as us, when there is all of Shibuya for them to choose from. And taking into account what happened to all of us today… It must be fate that we all met."

"That sounds like a cheesy pick-up line, Goro-senpai." Ren retorted, with the other boy instantly going red.

"I'm just expressing my sentiments. And you can stop with the _senpai_."

"But it gets a reaction out of you every time, _Goro-senpai_."

Akechi Goro, supposed media darling and well on his way to becoming a hard-boiled detective, tried to kick Ren's shin again in the most childish way possible, only for Ren to easily evade, now that he was no longer sitting at a table. Ren laughed heartily, letting out what must have been the most genuine and unstrained laugh he had had since arriving at Tokyo.

"Okay. Okay. No more _senpai_. Are you fine with 'Goro-kun'?"

Akechi took a step closer to Ren and looked him square in the eyes. This was now the Akechi who had looked at him across the table in Mementos, when his face was swathed in the angular shadows of his blood-red mask. The seriousness on his face made Ren take half a step back.

"You are not this talkative normally. What's with you tonight?"

Ren raised his arms in mock surrender. "Hey, you've seen how I am in costume. You've also seen how I am in… well, Mementos. Speaking of that, I have seen how _you_ acted in Mementos. I'm not the only one wearing multiple masks, detective."

Akechi hummed contemplatively. "Even so, you don't act like someone who is capable of randomly assaulting a woman on the street."

"I’ll have you know, I _am_ innocent." Ren insisted.

"Sure, you are." Akechi rolled his eyes.

"That's exactly what Sae-san said this morning…" Ren muttered. That got Akechi to snap to attention.

"Sae-san? Niijima Sae-san?! You know her?"

"I live with her." Ren explained. "You know I'm not from Tokyo, right? I'm here to finish off my schooling and be supervised while on probation. My parents wouldn't move to Tokyo, so my guardian for this year is actually… Niijima Sae."

"That's incredible." Akechi murmured, stunned. "Tokyo is so big, and yet today it feels so small. It really must be fate."

"Please stop, _Goro-senpai_." It was Ren's turn to roll his eyes.

"Well, all that aside, I am going to dig a little into this monster of a gym teacher you have at Shujin." Akechi shook his head. "Although I don't know if I can do anything. If students have made multiple police complaints already, someone must be hushing everything up. Someone pretty high up in the ranks."

"We need to protect Ann and Ryuji though." Ren let his displeasure seep into his voice. "Kamoshida broke Ryuji's leg and is sexually harassing Ann. We can't let that continue."

"You are not concerned about yourself?" Akechi raised an eyebrow.

"I've only been to Shujin for one day." Ren reminded him. "I haven't even been introduced to this teacher yet. So, what are you going to do, if you already know you can't do anything officially?"

A strange smile surfaced on Akechi's face, a particularly nasty expression that Ren had not seen before. For a moment, Ren found it hard to believe that Akechi was a police intern working for society’s benefit, as opposed to a yakuza thug. In fact, if Akechi had claimed he was a delinquent criminal then and there, Ren would have been convinced.

"I was thinking of using… Morgana's suggestion tomorrow." Akechi gave a pointed look at Ren's bag. The cat had stayed quiet during the whole conversation after Ann and Ryuji showed up. "What do you say to doing some shopping for some counterfeit luxuries, _Ren-kun_?"

 _Are all Tokyo detectives like this?_ Ren was starting to seriously wonder why he hadn’t moved to the capital sooner.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-

 

After that, Akechi Goro contacted Sae to tell her about his acquaintance with Ren, and somehow convinced Sae to allow Ren to bring Morgana home with him, as the detective apparently couldn’t bring pets back to the apartment he was renting.

In any case, it was already late when Ren finally made it back to the Niijimas.

Sae was not too keen on the idea of Morgana, but surprisingly, Niijima Makoto was the one who went all starry eyed at the sight of the cute cat. Ren had originally thought of her as a severe, humourless girl, who didn’t care for anything except making people follow rules, but the cautious excitement with which she approached Morgana was something to see. Ren wisely offered the cat to her as a peace offering immediately, and Makoto got to cuddling the cat at no time.

Morgana, after some initial meows of protests, eventually gave up and let himself be tickled by Makoto for the night.

Yet the other Niijima sister was not so easily placated, as Ren learned when Sae called him aside specifically. They sat inside his cramped little room, with Sae folding her arms over her chest.

"I took you in as a favour for Kujikawa-san, so I knew you did modelling,” she remarked. “Still, for you to have met Akechi-kun on your first job… I can't say I have remotely predicted that possibility."

"Is there a problem…?" Ren was confused.

"Akechi-kun is a diligent kid, but you might want to stay a bit further away from him. Especially given how you are here on probation." Sae frowned. "He has a reputation in the force. He will always see a case through and is hyper focused on results. If you brush him the wrong way… you might not get to finish your probation."

"You… believe I am innocent?" Ren felt a little puzzled.

"Innocent or not, you are on probation, and you should have a chance to integrate back into society by finishing it." Sae stated. "Getting too involved with Akechi-kun and his cases may damage that chance."

"Speaking of him, I do have a question…" Ren said slowly. "He said he was doing modelling for the money. Does he really need that much money as a high schooler? He seemed to have a lot going on in his life as it is."

"He… yes, long story short, he does need the money." Sae answered with a sigh. "He is young, but he's had a tough life. There really isn't anyone left to look after him anymore, so he has to pay for a lot of the things that high schoolers normally don't need to worry about."

"I’m sorry to hear that… but modelling? That seems like an odd choice for a detective. I wonder what kind of person on the force could have brought him into modelling…" Ren mused aloud.

A small smile graced Sae's lips just then, softening her severe features and making her seem far more beautiful. "Well, I _did_ decide to take you in after Rise-chan asked me to do it…"

"Wait. You? Sae-san??" Ren did a double take. He remembered thinking Sae had the body of a great model when he first walked through the door, but to hear the woman confirm that _she_ was the reason why Akechi took up modelling…

"If there was one thing Akechi-kun and I both agree on, it's that being a police intern pays far too little for anyone to live in Tokyo." Sae huffed out a small laugh.

Even though Ren really did think Akechi's words about fate sounded like a cheesy pick-up line, he was starting to wonder if it might actually be the case after all, whether he liked it or not.

 


	5. Rumors of Him

Ren spent the whole of his morning commute on the following day Googling Akechi Goro.

Ann and Ryuji hadn’t lied. Apparently, the guy really was a star detective, as far as the media was concerned. He had solved some minor cases as a 15-year-old, had gained the attention of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police by the time he was 16, and had spent all of his high school years being a police intern affiliated with Japan's Special Investigation Unit.

The Justice Department had even promised him a spot once he reached adulthood.

Ren whistled as he scrolled through Goro's admittedly impressive achievements. The boy seemed to have a special interest in cases involving children, family violence, and homicide cases where the victims were women. No wonder he had reacted so strongly to Ann's situation and seemed to have his eyes on Kamoshida. But these were really morbid topics for a high schooler to be fixated on…

He thought he might have found the answer on Goro's Wikipedia page.

It seemed the other boy had grown up in an orphanage and had gone through multiple foster families. Indeed, "Akechi" wasn't the surname he was born with, nor was it the only surname he’d had after his parent's death. It just happened to be the name of the last family he’d been placed with before he left the foster system and started to fend for himself. With all that, it was little wonder he was so guarded against the use of his first name.

Sae hadn't been lying when she’d said Goro needed money. Renting on his own as a minor in central Tokyo must be tough, even if he _was_ a celebrity.

The bag next to Ren wriggled and Morgana poked his head out. "Reading up on Akechi Goro?"

Ren gave a vague hmm as a reply. Despite Makoto's interest in the cat, she had shied away from sleeping with the cat in her room, so Ren ended up saving a spot for the cat on his stiff bed. It was a good opportunity for him to talk to his human-turned-cat acquaintance though, with Ren discovering that Morgana was a surprisingly well-adjusted individual, as he’d answered Ren’s questions in a clear and logical way.

Morgana had explained once again that Shadows were echoes of humanity's general emotions, such as desire, envy, and fear.

The vast auction hall that Goro and he had been placed in was, as far as Morgana knew, a place where both strong and weak Shadows gathered. Apparently, that section of Mementos had become the way it was because it reflected how people wanted things they did not have, things they would be willing to give up much to gain. Since Shadows were patterned after human desires, the rest was obvious.

As for the rest of Mementos, the centre of the Metaverse as Morgana knew it, the cat described it as a towering shopping mall with endless number of levels. Honestly, Ren didn't know what to say to that. Morgana couldn't offer much wisdom on that either, only concluding with 'maybe that shows the degree to which consumerism has affected Japan' before bidding Ren to sleep.

"He seems to have done a lot in his short life." Peeking at Ren's phone, Morgana continued to comment, bringing Ren out of his reverie.

"That's true, but I feel the more I learn about him, the more of a mystery he becomes." Ren muttered, partly to Morgana and partly to himself. Akechi Goro was like a character in a play, one whose true nature continued to elude Ren, despite long hours of studying the script. Though, if he was being fair, they _had_ literally just met. Maybe time would assuage some of his anxieties towards the other young model.

Maybe.

As Ren was muttering about this to himself, Morgana just gave him a tired look and ducked back into the bag.

Ren met up with Ryuji and Ann first thing at school. He’d already obtained Goro's LINE ID last night, and traded it for those of the others, allowing the four of them to finally be able to talk with one another at a distance.

Oddly enough, Ann seemed far less depressed than last night, with much of her good mood (giddiness even!) attributable to having direct access to Akechi Goro's phone. When Ren questioned Ryuji about this, the other boy just shrugged and pulled Ren aside to explain what was apparently named 'The Akechi Phenomenon'.

"Look, Ren. You honestly have no idea about who Akechi Goro is?"

"Not at all,” Ren answered. “I was… really preoccupied for the last three months." He considered telling Ryuji the truth about why he didn’t know, but finally decided against it.

"Alright. So… long story short, he's really popular with girls all over Japan now." Ryuji explained with a frown. It seemed Goro was truly a TV star, appearing on numerous shows and offering his opinions even on social phenomena. As such, any girl who happened to get his contact information would no doubt be as giddy as Ann was right now, if not more.

Ren nodded as he took it all in, noting that it matched the information he had found on the internet.

It seemed he’d been right with his judgement of Goro's character. Much of what the other teenager showed to the world was a carefully constructed mask, one so convincing to the average person that they might think it was the genuine article.

Did anyone else know of the true Akechi Goro, of the person beneath the carefully crafted façade, he wondered?

Following this conversation, Ren was informed by Ann and Ryuji that Kamoshida had not given up: he had once again asked Ann to meet him after school, albeit in a public location, allegedly to make her feel more comfortable about the situation. Ann muttered that Kamoshida had been making unwanted advances towards her for a while now - picking her up and dropping her off using his car before and after school, offering to transport her to and from her photoshoots, attempting to carry her bag at school - the sorts of things that might be cute if it were a high schooler trying to woo his crush, but utterly disturbing and creepy coming from a teacher 10 years Ann's senior.

When asked, Ryuji pointed out Kamoshida's picture in the entrance hall, where photos of all teaching staff were displayed. To Ren’s lack of surprise, it was the gym teacher who had been glaring at him yesterday morning at the main gate, a man who’d seemed a bully and a slime ball from the start.

His heart sank at this. Stopping Kamoshida might be more difficult than he thought.

On a more lighthearted note, Ann noticed Ren's bag wriggling before class, and Ren had reluctantly showed Morgana to Ann ad Ryuji, saying that he and Goro picked up the cat as a stray last night. Sadly, the detective had been unable to take the cat home, so…

Ann seemed to accept this, though it was Morgana’s reaction that was more interesting, as the cat appeared to be completely starstruck by Ann's beauty, with Ren swearing that Morgana had sparkles in his eyes when Ann reached into Ren's bag to pat him.

Perhaps as a penance for taking an animal to school, Ren had to endure listening to the cat murmur about Lady Ann being beautiful over and over all the way until lunch break.

It was worse than the gossip and rumors about Candidate Shido for the upcoming election.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-

 

It had taken some doing, but Goro and Ren had figured out a plan for today. They would try out this whole cognition business with Morgana by tailing Ann and Ryuji when Ann headed out to meet Kamoshida in the afternoon. Before that though, they had some time to prepare, as the scumbag apparently had to deal with volleyball team practice.

And by _prepare_ , Morgana meant obtaining luxury items for the three of them.

Goro had texted an address to Ren, describing it as an _interesting_ shop that he wanted Ren and Morgana to meet him at. It was a location off of the main roads, on one of the many backstreets that crisscrossed Shibuya out of plain sight. Honestly, Ren didn't like what Google Streetview showed him when he looked it up. The area looked super shady, and not at all where a criminal on probation - _and_ an aspiring young detective - should head to after school on a weekday.

He was starting to wonder if Sae had been right to suggest that he stay far away from Goro. They had only been acquainted two days, yet Goro was already leading him into dangerous territory, where wise men would fear to tread and only fools would rush in.

But then, Ren had little room to criticise, given his own risk-seeking tendencies. That, combined with the surreal experience he’d had with Mementos, made him head towards the place Goro had told him to meet.

The place was as dodgy as Ren had feared, nestled behind the main thoroughfares in a dark alley. Ren frowned. This looked like a place where the yakuza might sell stolen goods, or where the shopkeeper would try to either steal your cash or your bank card details. A dingy display protruding out into the alley proclaimed that the shop was called 'Untouchable,’ making Ren wonder whether it was named such in blatant defiance to the power of the law.

Except that an executor of the law was standing right next to its entrance.

Goro looked up as Ren approached and waved, the ever-present mask of sweetness plastered on his face again.

The detective was carrying a dark briefcase that Ren found somewhat familiar. When they met up at Takemi's studio yesterday, Ren distinctively remembered Goro carrying a white suitcase with a large capital 'A' painted on it. After today's Google search about him, Ren had learnt it was one of Goro's signature accessories, something that he carried everywhere with him.

Today, however, the case in Goro's hand was charcoal black, accented with stripes of light grey that crossed each other over its leather surface. As Goro turned to Ren and started to walk towards him, the bag swayed, bringing with a memory from yesterday flashing to the forefront of his mind.

Startled, the boy blinked, fixing his eyes on the briefcase in Goro's hand. It couldn't be…

"Ren-kun," the detective said as he came to a stop right in front of him, "it's good to see you again."

Ren only gave a nod and decided to cut straight to the point.

"Goro-senpai, are you carrying… a bag that I remember you swinging in Mementos yesterday?"

As if on cue, Goro's cringed and fidgeted with the bag in his hands. "Would you stop - "

"Alright. Sorry. Won't do it again." Ren snickered. "But I remember you manifesting something that looked just like this in the auction house yesterday."

Ren's bag moved as Morgana started to eagerly nuzzle the zip. Ren sighed and turned the bag, unzipped it and allowing Morgana to poke his head out. The cat's nose was twitching nonstop, as if it smelt something delicious and couldn't wait to get his paws on it.

"Goro, you… it can't be! You actually brought a genuine luxury item with you?!?"

Goro took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself somewhat. "Ah, yes. This… I got this bag after one of my modelling gigs. They were getting rid of out-of-season stock that wasn't going to sell and decided to give some individual goods away to the models. I happened to get this - a genuine Burberry men’s briefcase."

Ren whistled quietly. "How much is it worth?"

"At least one-hundred-and-fifty-thousand Yen." Goro gave Ren what had to be his sweetest smile yet.

" _Damn._ " Ren shook his head. "Talk about expensive."

"Hmm, since you own this bag in real life, it is very likely that you manifested this exact bag in Mementos." Morgana nodded sagely. "The purpose of getting some luxury items today was to engrave an idea of what luxury looked like into your subconsciousness, so that you could use these items as a conduit for your power. But I see that you already have a head start. Excellent. Excellent."

"I thought I should bring it today to make things easier." Goro admitted. "I do feel very awkward carrying this though. This bag is absolutely not something that I can afford to buy. Having it with me is making me… quite self-conscious."

"And what are we buying today? Please don't tell me we’re going to spend one-hundred-thousand yen here…" Ren looked uncomfortably at the shop. "I don't have that much money on me."

"I wouldn’t put you through such an ordeal." Goro smiled at him. "The luxuries in this shop are, well, counterfeits, and will only cost about ten thousand at most."

"You… you’re a detective, and yet you’re bringing me to a place that sells counterfeit goods." Ren deadpanned, not impressed.

"It's unlikely that either of us have enough money to afford even one genuine article." Goro shook his head. "And since Morgana specifically mentioned counterfeits would work as well, as long as they looked like the bona fide product, this was the best I could come up with."

"If you say so…." Ren scratched the back of his neck and looked around dubiously, his nose crinkling a little at the rancid stench wafting from an overflowing rubbish bin. Judging solely from Goro's public profile, Ren would never have predicted he would be comfortable at a place like this. And yet Goro's body language was confident, even relaxed, as he put his free hand on his hip and tilted his chin up to look up and down the street.

"Shall we go in then?" Goro nodded to Ren just as the other finished his musings. "I know the proprietor here. He will be discreet."

Morgana hummed eagerly, his little body positively vibrating with anticipation. Ren saw little choice but follow Goro into the dark - but surprisingly not grimy - shop. Inside, there was more space than Ren had thought, with the shelves arranged tidily, leaving ample room for any potential customers to walk in. All sorts of expensive looking merchandise lined the shelves, but as Ren had feared, there were no other customers in the shop except Goro and him.

The shopkeeper was a grizzled middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth, his grey eyes fixed on Goro and Ren with a tense stare. Ren had never seen anyone who stared like this man. It would be hard to convince Ren that someone looking as tough and guarded as this shopkeep was not involved in some criminal activity.

"Hello, Iwai-san." Goro gave his customary sweet greeting to the shopkeeper, who only grunted in reply.

"The kid detective. Didn't think you would actually show up." Iwai muttered in a gruff voice, the cigarette moving in his mouth as he talked without taking it out. "Colour me surprised."

"Haha. I wouldn't lie to someone as important to the force as you." Goro laughed, a strangely demure sound that Ren found quite fake, almost gratingly so – but only because he knew what the other boy was really like. "Like I said, I am only here to pick up some of your goods as part of an investigation."

Iwai nodded, but his expression looked anything but convinced. Ren briefly wondered just what the relationship between these two was, but Iwai tilted his head and addressed Ren. "And what about the other boy? Is he the same as you?"

Ren turned to Goro for instructions. He didn't know what Goro had said to Iwai, and he didn't want to mess the situation up. Goro shook his head a little.

"Not the same, unfortunately. I would love to have some more colleagues of my own age. He is… I guess you could say he is an assistant of mine for this particular case."

Goro patted Ren's shoulder in a display of camaraderie, with Ren following up by giving the proprietor a slight bow obediently. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Iwai-san. My name is Amamiya."

"Mmm. Amamiya-kun, don't get too mixed up in this kid's business." Iwai exhaled, letting out a thin stream of smoke. "Akechi could get you killed, you know?"

"Hahaha, now you’re just scaring my assistant." Goro laughed again. "I would never do something like that."

Iwai just growled, and shook his head, as if he didn’t think the statement worthy of a reply.

With that, Goro took Ren's elbow and dragged him deeper into the shop. Now that Ren had the time to look around, all of the items in the store seemed to be luxury items – presumably counterfeits. And the selection wasn’t limited to bags, either. There were clothes, some shoes, and even the occasional piece of jewellery peeking out from behind some other merchandise.

"Shouldn't all this be… illegal?" He whispered to Goro when the two of them had moved to a row of shelves conveniently out of Iwai's view.

"He is an informant the Metropolitan Police knows well." Goro shook his head. "Sometimes, we have to leave some things… operational, because the alternative would be much worse."

Ren wanted to ask more about it, but Goro seemed to have other ideas. The detective turned to him, face lit up with a bright smile, and pointed to the rows of luxury bags. "For now, why don't we get some _equipment_ for you, hmm?"

"And me too!" Morgana poked his head out again. "Even though you may think of me as a cat in this world and in Mementos, I know for a fact that I can have a humanoid form in the Metaverse. I would appreciate a bag too!"

"Eh." Goro grimaced. Ren was amused to see that the cat's comment made the sweet facade slip. "Even though these bags aren't as expensive as the real ones, they still cost a fair bit of money. I don’t know whether… "

"But without me, you wouldn't have learnt anything about the Metaverse…" Morgana lowered his head onto his soft front paws, doing his best impression of a human pout. "The least you could do is get me a bag…"

That gave Goro pause, with Ren sparing a quick look at the prices stuck on the shelves while he was otherwise distracted. Apparently, Goro hadn’t been lying about these bags being much cheaper than the real deal. And come to think of it, he _had_ gotten some money from his parents when he arrived in Tokyo. If he wanted to, then he should be able to get something for Morgana.

"Don't worry, Morgana. I can definitely get you something." He reached into his bag and patted the cat's little head. "I won't leave you to hang high and dry like this jerk over here."

"Who might you be calling a jerk, hmm, Ren-kun?" Goro's smile seemed more plastic than ever, even as his tone turned utterly saccharine

"You might be smart and charismatic, but you are totally a jerk on the inside." Ren patted Morgana, deliberately not looking at Goro. "Or am I wrong?"

"You couldn't be more wrong." Goro turned away from him and started to peruse the bags on the shelves. "I am a _perfect_ detective and gentleman."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, _Goro-senpai_."

The two boys (and one cat) browsed the shelves in silence after that, with Ren trying to focus on the bags instead of the detective standing a few metres away from him. There were all sorts of different products here - handbags, clutch bags, shoulder bags, briefcases - but Ren struggled to recognise the majority of them. 

Something Morgana had mentioned stuck to his mind. Morgana had said… Goro manifested the same bag as the one he had in reality, because subconsciously the detective associated that bag with wealth and power. Ren don't remember ever owning a bag that had cost more than ten thousand yen - what would he have dreamt up? He did remember looking at the bag in Mementos, but it was such a dreary and non-descript bag that it left very little of an impression on him.

Ren cast his eyes down the aisle, seeing only rows and rows of monotonous fabric. Nothing here really called to him, really made a strong impression of luxury. He’d almost begun to despair of finding something suitable for him when something further along the shelf caught his eye.

He walked over to it and examined it, noting that it was a slightly gaudy bag - not something that would have fit into his usual wardrobe. The black fabric sported a curious white-and-gold chain pattern, with flowery symbols intermingled with the chain links. From some distance away, it almost looked as if the bag itself was wrapped in chains - and yet close up, Ren felt a sense of defiance for some reason. It was as if someone was proudly displaying the shackles that had once bound them, daring to make these instruments of control into mere cosmetics that they displayed not as a scar, but a trophy.

Ren reached out and touched the bag, finding that the texture wasn't as luxurious as it had looked. He remembered how comfortable the soft sofa had been in Mementos, how it had almost seemed to embrace him with its softness - this counterfeit was nothing like it. But then, he wasn't buying for its value as a bag.

This was to be his weapon, and for that purpose, the bag was more than enough.

"You like that one?"

Ren whipped his head around to see Goro and Iwai standing beside him. He hadn’t realised that the shopkeeper had moved up. Goro held a big canvas bag in his hands and raised his eyebrows at Ren.

"Y-Yeah, I guess." Ren stammered. "I-is there a problem?"

Iwai didn't reply. He just walked up and took the bag from Ren's hands, turning it over while commenting.

"You've got a good eye with this bag. This is the latest Louis Vuitton handbag, from the 2016 spring and summer collection. Looks a bit funny and lots of women don't like the chain and flower pattern, but if you're trying to look like the most fashionable man in the area, this is guaranteed to get people looking at you." Iwai fixed his stern gaze at Ren. "I take it that's what you and the kiddo detective are after, right?"

"In that case, we'll be taking this bag and this dog carrier." Goro turned to Iwai. "How much?"

"One of the latest Louis Vuitton bags and one Gucci dog carrier? That'll cost you eighteen thousand yen." Iwai handed the bag back to Ren and turned to Goro.

"I don't think so, Iwai-san. Eight thousand." Goro shook his head. Ren watched with curiosity. Goro stood to his full height in front of Iwai, his body language utterly intimidating.

"You trying to make me go broke? Sixteen thousand yen." Iwai crossed his arms.

"You know how little the force pays me, and Amamiya-kun is just a high schooler." Goro bit his lip. "Ten thousand."

"You say you can't afford sixteen thousand yen, yet you are carrying around a real luxury item. Burberry male briefcase, genuine black leather with the signature print. It can't be anything less than a-hundred-and-fifty-thousand yen, maybe a-hundred-and-twenty if you're lucky." Iwai took the cigarette out of his mouth and positively glowered at Goro. "Now where did you get that, kiddo? One of your numerous sugar daddies gave it to you?"

"Iwai-san." Goro's voice was sweet with a hint of bubbling rage. "I would appreciate it if you would shut up and let us get on with our jobs."

Iwai and Goro stared at each other for a few good moments. Ren idly thought that Iwai had a great eye for luxuries, no matter what. At last, Iwai was the one who averted his eyes. The older man turned to Ren instead.

"You keep an eye on your detective." Iwai grumbled. "Make sure that he doesn't kill anyone, or himself. And if you can't help him, dump him and run to save yourself."

"Um, okay. I'll try." Ren answered, a little stunned. What was with the bad blood between Iwai and Goro? Why was there this constant talk of Goro killing people? Ren had to say this was getting him a little apprehensive.

"Tch. Fine, Akechi. I will leave you with some dignity in front of your _kouhai_." Iwai looked back at Goro. "You win this time. Thirteen thousand yen. I'm not going any lower."

Goro made an uncomfortable face as he took out his wallet. Helpfully, Morgana emerged with Ren's wallet in his mouth, and nudged Ren's neck. Ren took the cat's meaning and opened his own wallet, silently contributing as much as he could afford, holding out eight thousand yen to Iwai.

Iwai gave a lopsided grin. "Not bad. Better than Akechi was when he started."

This only made Goro frown. The other boy took out seven thousand and handed it to Iwai as well. "Thanks for the help, Iwai-san. Please restrain from spreading rumors about me though."

"All rumors have some grains of truth." Iwai only shook his head and waved dismissively. "You boys stay safe out there, whatever you are doing."

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

The two of them wordlessly checked their phones after they exited Iwai's shop.

Ann had informed them of the exact location and time that Kamoshida wanted to meet her. Goro had instructed Ryuji to tag behind Ann, make sure that Kamoshida didn't try anything dodgy. Of course, what Ryuji and Ann didn't know was that Morgana, Goro, and Ren would try to use their newfound powers to see whether they could tail Kamoshida as well without being noticed by anyone else.

Ren opted not to say anything to Goro about all the insinuations Iwai had made. He knew firsthand that the Japanese justice system was anything but pristine, but he didn't know how deep in the muck the likes of Sae and Goro might be.

Still, as far as he was concerned, Akechi Goro was fascinating. Ren had always known he had a penchant for slightly wild and dangerous people, and Goro was certainly both of those. The fake mask that the detective put up made him even more interesting to Ren, making him want to try and figure out how the other boy worked.

Which was harder than it seemed, even if the other was a national celebrity and probably had people trying to figure him out constantly.

And this time - Ren felt Morgana shift a little uncomfortably in the new, _Gucci_ carrier that they had purchased for him - there was something supernatural mixed in there as well. Ren would not pass over such an opportunity.

The two of them walked till they were about two blocks away from the address Ann had given. Goro stopped, took out his phone, and sighed.

"This is probably a good place for us to get to work. The timing is about right, too." He hummed a little. "About what Iwai-san said -"

"Don't worry about it." Ren stopped him. "Let's get the issue with Kamoshida worked out first. And after that, if you still want to talk, I'll listen to everything."

Goro gave him a look that could only be described as _piercing_. Morgana chose that very moment to offer his contribution too.

"I agree with Ren. Let's see how you two can wield your powers out here and save Lady Ann! We can't let someone as beautiful as Lady Ann get hurt!"

Goro's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Right, he hadn't learnt about Morgana's crush on Ann. Ren just sighed and internally facepalmed.

"Look, I'll explain later,” he said with a touch of exasperation. “Morgana is right though. If we don't hurry, Ann might really get hurt."

The two of them held on tightly to their designer bags, and Ren opened the dog carrier to let Morgana hop to the ground. Goro then took out his phone. With a nod towards Ren and Morgana to make sure they were both prepared, the detective gingerly pressed down on the ominous Metaverse app, the glowing eye of unblinking black and red.

The world around them instantly shifted. Actually, if Ren wanted to be more accurate, it was more like the entire world collapsed and was remade within a fraction of a second. Somehow, even though his eyes never captured such an image, Ren felt the entire reality around him break down, only to be reconstructed in strange and inexplicable ways. He felt sound crawling on his skin, tasted colors in the back of his throat, and saw the way his clothes brushed against his body as he moved. But by the time he drew his next breath, everything seemed… normal again. The streets of Shibuya were just as he remembered it, the bustle of busy shops sifting into his ears, and Goro…

Woah. Okay. No. This was not normal. The boy opposite him was in his ridiculous Phantom Thief outfit again, complete with that pointy red mask of his. Ren looked down at his own body, fearing the worst.

Yep, as expected, he was wearing that fancy long black trench coat as well, and an experimental touch towards his face indicated he was wearing his masquerade mask too. Goro looked down himself and let out a dejected sigh.

What was more surprising was Morgana. Ren saw a little humanoid figure jumping around him, only about the height of his knee. He had to squint and think before he recognized the bipedal, big-eyed black thing wearing a bright yellow scarf and a belt full of thieving tools around his waist.

Honestly, Morgana looked like a mascot character. If this was his 'humanoid' form in the Metaverse, Ren really didn't know what to say.

"Good. It seems like you are already growing into your powers." When that thing spoke, it was the same voice as Morgana's. Well, at least this wasn't a fake Morgana. "You have retained and taken ownership of the image in which the Metaverse and the world saw you. You are very very good at this, even though you are newbies."

"So… us retaining our gaudy clothes is a good thing?" Goro looked at his glove and stretched his hand.

"Yes! You can think of your clothes as… your _identity_ in this world. A way to hide your real identity and prevent the Metaverse from finding out about you entering it as real humans and not Shadows." Morgana nodded and clarified. "The Metaverse is a place of human thought. Real humans usually have great difficulty just entering it. I guess, whatever your phones ended up contacting, they provided you with a _ticket_ into the world of the human mind."

"No time to waste. Let's get to Ann and Ryuji." Ren said authoritatively. "Morgana, when I came out of the Metaverse last time, no time had passed in the real life. Does it apply here? Does time not move while we are here?"

"Well, not really." Morgana frowned. It was much easier for Ren to read Morgana's expressions in this form, at least. "Mementos is a lot deeper in the Metaverse than this. This is like… the first layer of the Metaverse, like you are just dipping the tip of your spoon into a bowl of milk, while Mementos is more like… the bottom of the milk bowl. The density of milk in these different locations are definitely going to be different, no?"

"Even though you claim to not be a cat, you totally talk like a cat." Goro grunted. "You are saying that time still flows when we are in this higher layer that's closer to the physical world, right?"

"You have that right. Time flows at the same speed here as in the physical world. You still have one foot in the real world, and you can affect the real world in a way. Only difference is that you can manipulate reality, so most times people will allow you to do whatever you want without noticing it." Morgana nodded. "There is only one bit of difficulty. You might have issues influencing people who have powerful minds or are rich and powerful in real life. Just make sure to stay away from these people. It's easier to point them out in the deeper levels of the Metaverse, since they shine like a bright beacon in there. Out here… we will have to rely on your knowledge of real-life Tokyo."

"Ok. So we can affect the physical world. All the better since we can stop Kamoshida by force if necessary." Ren nodded in return and waved at Goro. "Let's go."

He could feel himself slipping into his stage persona as soon as he realised he was in his Phantom Thief outfit. Looking at Goro, he saw that the detective's sweet façade had also completely faded away. The three of them did not say a word as they essentially ran towards the address that Ann gave him, and Ren wondered absentmindedly if this would be safe.

For now, it seemed that way.

Though Ren and Goro shouldered past people and bumped them out of the way, no one gave them a look. Morgana even dashed across a road, ignoring all traffic, and _somehow_ none of the cars hit the man-cat. Ren and Goro looked at each other and tried the same, and as it turned out… yeah, somehow they were simply untouchable by real life in their luxurious clothes.

All three of them were clutching their bags too, Goro clinging to his briefcase, Ren to the handbag, and Morgana holding on to the dog carrier, which was now smaller, with Morgana carrying it as a miniature little bag that fitted his stature. How bizarre.

"We're here." Goro whispered and the three of them skidded to a stop.

They were at a relatively desolate corner of a small park, and the only people in the immediate area were Ann and Kamoshida. Wondering where Ryuji was, Ren looked around and saw the faux blond on the other side of the park behind some trees, concealing himself lest Kamoshida discovered him.

Ren and Goro approached Kamoshida warily.

He and Ann were standing near an ornamental pond, and Ren felt sick when he saw the lewd smile plastered on Kamoshida's face. As the two boys approached, Kamoshida stepped closer to Ann.

"Ann, c'mon, I don't see anything you could possibly lose from this." He was saying. "Besides, you would be helping Shiho too. Just think about how happy she is to be on Shujin's volleyball team."

"Kamoshida-sensei, I really don't think…" Ann shook her head, hesitation and apprehension evident on her face.

"Ann… what is stopping you?" Kamoshida reached out to Ann's arm. "I will treasure you like you deserve. No mere _boy_ in Shujin would be able to give you what _I_ can give you…"

"This… this is wrong…" Ann was blushing now, probably from awkwardness. But Kamoshida probably took it to mean something else. He reached out and put his hands around Ann's waist, and hugged her close to his body. Ann yelped in shock.

"Shh, Ann… This is what couples should do, right? There is nothing wrong with what we’re doing - "

_Whack!_

Ren had thought Goro was still beside him, but the truth was that the detective was anything but. Before he had chance to process what was going on, a black briefcase – Goro's case – swung in a fierce arc to smash against the side of Kamoshida's head, making the man stumble back – though he didn’t let go of Ann.

Indeed, the man instinctively clutched onto Ann for support.

"Wha - what…" Kamoshida had no idea what was going on. He looked around while still holding on to Ann, his hands squeezing tight.

"Get your hands _off her!!!_ "

_Whack!_

Goro yelled and his Burberry briefcase landed another hit, this time smashing into Kamoshida's exposed belly as the man turned to look behind him, knocking the wind out of him. Kamoshida gave out a pained grunt at this, finally letting go of Ann, as he doubled over from the force of the blow.

Ren pulled him himself out of his shocked state and lunged himself at Goro, who seemed to have mad, as even now, the detective was swinging his briefcase at Kamoshida's head again.

Ren barely managed to grab onto his torso, but it wasn’t enough, as Goro's bag still connected with Kamoshida’s head.

_Whack!_

“Argghhh!”

With a loud yell, the gym teacher toppled over from the weight of Goro's blow, wobbling back and forth for a moment before he fell into the pond.

Seeing this, Ann let out a startled scream, as multiple people around the park turned in their direction. Ryuji abandoned his cover and ran over to help Ann.

Ren felt Goro's body stiffen.

"Akechi Goro," Ren's voice was stern when he opened his mouth, "what the hell are you doing? "

He didn’t know what he expected as a response, but it wasn’t for the detective to struggle viciously in his grip. Try as he might, Ren could not hold him still. Like a man possessed, the regally-clad figure in his arms writhed and thrashed and soon enough, broke free, with Ren making a last attempt to grab him, only for the detective to slip away, breaking into a run and disappearing from the park in a matter of seconds.

"He ran off…" Ren muttered to himself. Morgana was equally speechless next to him. Ann and Ryuji had shuffled off too, with both of them shakily taking out their phones.

But Ren had no time to ponder about the circumstances behind Goro’s… fit, as he noticed the glow of the now-familiar black-and-red eye on Ann and Ryuji's phones.

_‘What? No. It can’t…’_

Ren watched Ann and Ryuji tapped their phone screens, their expressions making it seem like the world was twisting and turning around them. And then the moment passed, and they were looking over at Ren, their mouths open in shock and incomprehension.

"Ren… Ren, is that you? In your modelling costume??" Ryuji gasped. "And is that black thing… your cat?!"

 _Oops_ , Ren sighed to himself. _So much for a successful first run of our powers._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Goro's Burberry suitcase, see [this link.](https://www.farfetch.com/au/shopping/men/burberry-london-check-briefcase-item-13090904.aspx?storeid=11115&size=17)
> 
> For Morgana's Gucci dog carrier, see[ this link.](https://www.gucci.com/us/en/pr/gifts/dog-bag-p-204297KGD2R9791)
> 
> For Ren's Louis Vuitton handbag, see [this picture.](https://www.purseblog.com/images/2016/03/Louis-Vuitton-Chain-Flower-Cluny-MM-Bag.jpg) This bag is no longer in production and was one of the bags that Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII was a model of. For LV's Final Fantasy campaign in 2016, see [see here](https://au.louisvuitton.com/eng-au/articles/series-4-lightning-a-virtual-heroine-).


	6. The Power of a Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went through a few revisions to get it right. As always, I'd like to thank my beta Alf for continuing to help!
> 
> All these reveals of Persona 5 The Royal is getting really exciting too! It's hard to not get hyped about this franchise right now.

For the next two days, Akechi Goro refused to respond to messages or calls. It was as if he had completely disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Ren had to admit he was getting a bit worried, given that the detective had run away while they were still nominally in the Metaverse. He’d actually asked Morgana whether there was any chance that Goro had been stranded there, but the cat had reassured him that Akechi Goro was probably fine.

After all, the detective's Instagram was still being updated with pictures of fancy food.

In the meantime, Ren had other issues to deal with, like explaining the situation to Ann and Ryuji. The fact that Ann and Ryuji could now hear Morgana’s speech as Japanese rendered the task a little bit easier. After all, if you wanted to explain something inconceivable, it helped to have the explanation coming from something equally inconceivable – like a talking cat. Still, even that wasn’t enough to completely convince the two Shujin students, and Ren wished that the detective was here to back up his story.

On a more amusing note, Kamoshida’s fall into the pond had earned the teacher a twisted ankle. According to the principal, Kamoshida would be absent from the school for a week, and Ann had sighed in visible relief when that announcement was made.

Ryuji, however, warned Ren that something this minor wasn’t going to make Kamoshida stop. Even if his lustful actions towards Ann had been temporarily thwarted, the teacher had a reputation for sexually harassing girls in the sport teams and physically abusing on the boys. For the students to be free of his tyranny, Kamoshida had to be removed from Shujin – permanently.

As for the detective, when Goro finally deigned to reply to LINE messages, he had plenty of excuses for his absence, but Ren believed none of it. After all, he’d seen that there was much more to Akechi Goro than met the eye, that the pleasant young man was nothing more than a mask. What exactly it was a mask for, Ren didn’t know, only that one didn’t put on a mask unless there was something to hide.

The question of what those things were troubled Ren, as he knew the detective wasn’t just hiding his behaviour or his past. There was something twisted and _ugly_ under the persona that Goro projected, something that the boy didn’t want anyone he knew – no, anyone in the world – to know existed.

Thus, despite Morgana's anxious protests, Ren went to Untouchable on his own to ask Iwai about Goro, given that Sae was probably not the best person to talk to about the detective’s double-life. As he had expected, Iwai remained rather tight-lipped, though Ren did take note of the curious glint that appeared in the older man's eyes when he mentioned he found Goro's activities… worrying.

"I meant what I said about that kid detective, Amamiya." Iwai had grumbled. "I don't know what Akechi wants to do with his life, but he's bitten off way more than he can chew. He's madder than a hatter if you ask me. He's young, but way older than his years. If you think you can get the upper hand with him, you are gonna have a hell of a hard time."

"I'm not." Ren insisted. "I just want to know… why he is living a double life?"

Iwai's facial expression softened. For a brief moment, Ren could see the man as someone concerned for a boy young enough to be his son, instead of a cagy, hardened black-market vendor.

"Who knows, but it must be something very serious. He’s put himself through so much crap for what looks like no reason, but there has to be _something_ behind it all. A man doesn’t push himself beyond his limits like that unless there is a greater goal he must reach. But what that goal might be? Damned if I know."

What most intrigued Amamiya Ren was that Iwai did not deny his use of the phrase 'double-life'. Of course, given Iwai’s comments, he probably wasn’t referring to Goro's work as a model, or the fact that Goro was a student and a detective, so what _was_ he referring to?

He suspected he’d find out eventually, but for the moment, there were more pressing concerns than cutting to the heart of the onion that was Akechi Goro.

Morgana had indicated that since Ann and Ryuji knew what was going on with Mementos, it might be prudent to bring them along in the future. Which meant another trip to Iwai's place, because Mementos and the Metaverse could be very dangerous for those who weren’t armed.

As such, before Ren left the shop, he tactfully let Iwai know he might be bringing two more teens in the near future, with the proprietor sighing and shaking his head, muttering something about kids getting in over their heads.

Ren, of course, politely pretended not to hear this as he thanked the man for his time.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

In a weird way, Ren’s curse had been a blessing. He had been prepared to spend his time in Tokyo friend-less, hobby-less and job-less, but it seemed he wouldn’t have to. This was mostly thanks to Ryuji and Ann, his acquaintances from the photoshoot, who were becoming fast friends, making him feel welcomed at Shujin despite his status as a transfer student with a troubled past.

Their budding friendship meant the three of them (and Morgana) were now having lunch together on the school grounds, and today was no different. The three of them were making idle chatter when Ann's phone vibrated, and the girl casually picked her phone up to have a look.

And yet when she checked the message, she positively flinched and literally threw the phone away. The gadget landed on the grass with a dejected _plonk_.

"Ann!" Wide-eyed, Ryuji leaped out of his seat and dashed after the phone, retrieving it and returning with a concerned expression on his face. "What the heck? What was that!"

Shujin had been relatively quiet over the past week. With Kamoshida away, even Ren could tell that students in sport clubs were having an easier time. They seemed to be more open, had more smiles on their faces, and were generally in good spirits. However, Ren knew that this was only a temporary state of affairs – they hadn’t dealt with the issue, just delayed the inevitable.

"It's Kamoshida again." Ann growled, her teeth clenched and her body stiff. She lowered her head, her hands balled into fists. "Read it. He… he doesn't know when to give up."

Ryuji frowned, hesitating. The hesitation only stayed with him for a split second, however, and he quickly glanced down at Ann's still unlocked phone. There was a throaty grumble of disgust, before he thrust the phone into Ren's face.

The message read _Takamaki-san, let's meet up next Monday after school. I've recovered and I miss you._

"This friggin’ scumbag." Ryuji growled. "It looks like even being smacked by the Detective Prince didn't teach him a lesson."

"It's not like Kamoshida knows he was smacked." Poking his head out of Ren's school bag, Morgana clarified. "To fix this problem permanently and protect Lady Ann from him, we have to teach his subconscious an even more memorable lesson in the Metaverse."

Morgana had brought Ann and Ryuji up to speed regarding the Metaverse. Even though he was nothing but a small cat in the real world, Ren noted that Morgana was relishing his role as a source of knowledge and was actively invested in getting rid of Kamoshida. In the privacy of his mind, Ren had to admit that at night, as he lay alone in his bed, he had thought of just walking away from this mess and all the trouble it would inevitably cause.

But Morgana would have none of that, as he considered it nothing short of folly to simply let Kamoshida be dealt with by the law.

Strangely enough, in spite of being an officer of the law, Goro agreed with Morgana, as his discreet investigations had revealed the worst-case scenario: someone big was covering for Kamoshida, with reports to the police being… lost or misfiled, probably due to political pressure or a very large bribe.

At this rate, Kamoshida would never be arrested. There would be no justice for the victims through official channels.

Knowing Goro as he did now, Ren knew that the detective would not – _could not –_ let such an injustice stand.

"This Metaverse business better work out." Ryuji glared at Morgana, though his expression softened when the cat tilted its head, looking back innocently. "I-I don't know. It’s just hard to trust this weird magic you talked about. It just sounds so… so _unreal_."

"But you saw Ren and I in our Metaverse appearances, didn't you?" Morgana was adamant. "That should be proof that we were not lying. Besides, Goro already said the police would be useless if you tried to bring this case to the authorities. Someone rich and powerful is covering for Kamoshida and someone as low on the totem pole as a police intern can't do anything about it."

Ryuji just sighed again and passed Ann's phone back to its rightful owner. She didn't raise her head as she took the phone back, her voice small and helpless when she spoke.

"Do you… do you think he will stop if I actually say yes to him?"

"NO!"

Both Morgana and Ryuji yelled immediately, with Ren clenching his hands so tightly his nails dug into his palm.  There was no way Kamoshida was going to stop if Ann said yes to him. If anything, it would make the situation even worse. But he understood why Ann would ask such a thing. Given the amount of pressure the girl was placed under, it made sense why she might think giving up would be the best course of action.

"Ann! If you do that, you're never going to get rid of him!" Ryuji shouted, stomping the ground for emphasis. "We have to fight him. He messed up my leg and got me out of the track team. He ruined my life, and I'm not going to let him ruin yours too! No way!"

"Thankfully, we were already planning on going to that counterfeit shop this afternoon." Morgana continued. "We'll be ready to face Kamoshida next week. It's still Friday. We still have time to prepare."

Ren nodded and said decisively. "Indeed. I'll let Goro know that Kamoshida hasn't given up. We have to do something about this."

"You know, even though we're all pretty new to this, you… you are adjusting very well, Ren." Ann gave a shaky laugh. "I think I would be much less decisive if you weren't around managing this."

"Well… Thank you." Ren didn't know what to say to that, so he just meekly said thanks.

When Ren let Goro know about Kamoshida's text, the detective was utterly incensed, much to Ann's surprise. Even though Goro told the group that he simply could not stand to see people so abusing their authority, especially when it involved women, Ann had explained to Ren that Goro's public image was one of sweetness personified.

As a fan, she had never expected him to be so intense, so… passionate. It was like seeing a totally different side of him.

Ryuji, who really hadn’t seen what the fuss was about regarding the Detective Prince, joined Goro in his grumblings about crappy adults on the group chat. The detective commiserated but apologised profusely for not being able to make it to Untouchable today, with Ren looking on in silence.

On the way to Iwai’s shop, Morgana explained to Ann and Ryuji how luxury goods impacted cognition in the Metaverse, cautioning them that the items alone weren’t enough – they still needed a strong resolve for the luxury items to exert their actual power.

Ren further explained what had happened to Goro and him when they entered the auction house, how they had no choice but to fight their way out of there. He noticed that both Ryuji and Ann's expression became stern when they heard this, and secretly prayed that they had enough conviction to fight against the situation and Kamoshida.

Iwai, unsurprisingly, regarded the three teenagers and the cat with exasperation, but did nothing to shoo them away, as if curious about what they’d pick out. Ren remained at the counter, while Ryuji and Ann went to the back to rummage through Iwau’s item racks, hoping that his presence would convince the man they weren’t up to no good.

Still, when the others emerged with their bag picks from behind Iwai’s item racks, Ren could only raise a curious eyebrow – their tastes were _certainly different_ from his.

Ryuji held in his hand a large bag that shimmered in a kaleidoscope of grey hues and tones as it moved under the light, making it hard to discern the underlying colour of the bag amidst its silver-black shimmers. The material seemed… leathery? No, that wasn’t it. There was something very scaly about it, and Ren thought it might actually be reptilian. It was very much a showy bag that screamed individuality – in other words, it suited Ryuji perfectly. He could definitely see the blond pairing the bag with certain T-shirts in his possession, particularly that one that said something like 'NO MO RULES'.

Ann, on the other hand, had chosen a leather bag with a rich and confident shade of red. Subdued, yet self-possessed, the regal red bag gave Ann an almost noble air as she swung it in her hands, the gold accessories on the bag glinting in the light of the shop. Small gold letters embossed onto the bag subtly proclaimed its class without the ostentatiousness that came with Ryuji's bag. The red bag seemed perfect in Ann’s hands – a fitting mix of the girl's warm personality and breathtaking beauty.

Iwai gave out a low whistle. "Does Akechi know you newbies have such an eye for designer goods? You two might end up bankrupting him."

"Um. Err. No?" Ryuji scratched the back of his head, at a loss as to what was going on.

"You, boy, picked out a Ralph Lauren Ricky33 handbag. The real thing would have been made from genuine python skin, and would have cost you over one-hundred-and-eighty-thousand Yen." Turning from Ryuji's stunned face to Ann, Iwai continued. "And you, young lady, picked out a Hermes Birkin 25 leather handbag, which has been called by some ‘one of the best women's handbags in the world.’" Here he took his cigarette out of his mouth and tilted his head as he fixed his gaze at Ann for dramatic effect. "The real bag would have come with a lifetime repair warranty, which I suppose makes sense, given its _one-million Yen_ price tag."

"Holy shit!" Ryuji exclaimed, flinching at the words coming out of the shopkeeper’s mouth. Ann's eyes were round with shock as well.

_One million yen_? Who could afford that kind of thing?

"Like I said, you guys are gonna break Akechi's bank. I thought _he_ had expensive tastes, but hey, I guess it takes one to know one." Iwai shrugged.

"How much are you charging us, Iwai-san?" Ren adjusted his glasses.

"Your friends have decided on some very unique items. I'm afraid the bill will be much higher than the last time." Iwai looked up at Ren from his slouched position in his seat behind the counter. "The total comes to forty-thousand Yen."

Ryuji staggered on hearing the price and even Ren felt his heart skip a beat in fear. That… forty-thousand Yen was a lot of money for three high schoolers. Knowing of Ryuji’s past and how his mother had raised him as a single parent, he definitely couldn’t afford this. Even Ren’s own wallet was running a bit low, given he was still settling in and there had been a fair bit of spending he’d needed to do for the new semester. Ren bit his lip and internally prepared to bargain with Iwai, remembering how Goro stood his ground against the man and mentally taking notes on what kind of strategies might work.

Just as he was about to step forward and see how he measured up to the Detective Prince, Ann saved him the trouble by walking up to Iwai and presenting him with her debit card.

Iwai looked up at her and blinked, his weathered face showing signs of genuine surprise. Ann’s face, however, was focused and full of determination as she held out her card, answering his questioning gaze with a firm expression of her own.

"I should have enough in my account for both bags, Iwai-san." Ann's voice wavered a little, but she stood her ground. Iwai, however, only shook his head slightly and looked at the three teens.

"I don't know what you guys are doing with Akechi, but… are you sure it’s worth this much for you? Forty-thousand is a lot of money for the average high school student."

"I know." Ann replied. "But we’re betting a lot on making sure this thing with Goro-kun works out. It's our last chance."

"Last chance?” Iwai repeated. “Last chance for what?" The shopkeeper furrowed his brows. "You’re all way too young to be talking about last chances."

Ann and Ryuji paused, taken aback by the man’s hesitation about taking their money. Seeing this, Ren shook his head and spoke up.

"It's our last chance to make sure justice is carried out upon a truly vile adult." He replied in a low, soft voice. "An adult that even Akechi Goro cannot touch by himself."

"Mmm." Iwai hummed, his gaze softened a little as he regarded the trio. "I never thought there would be a day when I get to see Akechi having friends his age, least of all friends who are willing to stick with him in his work." Reaching out, he took Ann's card from her, examining it. "Make sure you protect yourself from whatever you're going up against, okay?"

The three teenagers nodded grimly.

"And one last thing," the shopkeeper mentioned as he shook his head and handed the card back to Ann with a sniff. "Don't use bank cards in dodgy shops like mine, young lady!"

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

After using Ann’s card to withdraw forty-thousand worth of cash from a nearby ATM and getting lectured by Iwai about financial security, the three (and one cat) went their separate ways to spend a final weekend in relative quietness. The mood was heavy when they parted, with Ann biting her lip in residual anxiety.

Over the weekend, Goro brought to Ann’s attention a last-ditch way, a safety net. In the event their attempt at influencing Kamoshida via the Metaverse didn't work out, he would bring the man's depraved actions up with the authorities once more, using his fame and media connections for leverage. At the very least, the detective had promised, he would probably be able to get Ann transferred out of Shujin. He couldn't promise anything else though – even putting everything on the line, he didn’t think he would manage to get more than a minor concession.

Ann thanked him for his efforts but told the boy in no uncertain terms that while she appreciated what he was wiling to risk for her, just saving herself wasn’t what she wanted.

After all, Kamoshida was threatening the entire female volleyball team, including her friend Shiho. For her to run away and leave the others to suffer…that was a coward’s way out. Goro had conceded the point, saying that he, too, hoped everything with the Metaverse would work out – no, that it _would_ work out, one way or another.

When told about this, Ren had found it strange that the detective was willing to trust the Metaverse to such a degree.

He pondered this latest mystery as he sat in the Niijima sisters' lounge on Sunday morning, watching one of Goro's interviews being replayed on TV. He pondered this as he reviewed the amount of money left in his bank account, wondering whether it would be a good idea for him to look for a part-time job if they had to keep going back to Iwai's – and whether he had time for a part-time job other than modelling.

Still, no matter how he pondered this, it didn’t make sense. Goro had been so sceptical about Morgana's story at first… what had brought about the sudden change of heart? Ren didn’t know, but it was a good change, nonetheless.

Monday came, and it was nothing short of a miracle that Ren managed to pack his and Morgana's fake designer bags into his school bag (not to mention _Morgana himself_ , and all of his actual _school materials_ ). On the train to Shujin, he read up more on Kamoshida, learning that the internet had nothing but good things to say for the volleyball player-turned-teacher, given that he had led the Japanese Men's Volleyball Team to Olympic gold. Indeed, when Kamoshida had retired from his career as an athlete, choosing to become a physical education teacher, prestigious schools around the country had vied for the _privilege_ of obtaining his services, with Shujin Academy winning out over the rest of the competition thanks to having deeper pockets.

According to what he read, Kamoshida had always had a rash, hot-headed personality, but it had been brushed off as just him being competitive. Still, there were no records of him seriously injuring another athlete, nor any hint of scandal about him assaulting women, making Ren wonder if this darker side of Kamoshida had only emerged after he left the world of professional sports, or if it had already existed before that, only to be covered up by the powerful friends Kamoshida evidently had.

Either way, it didn’t change what he was now, or what they had to do because of it.

As such, Ren was relieved to hear that Goro would be present, having arranged to leave school early and meet up with them around Shujin, as they needed all the help they could get. Ryuji had questioned how the other boy could just leave school early, only for Goro to remind them of his status as a celebrity. As the Detective Prince, he could just tell his teachers that he needed to be away for police work.

Ryuji only grumbled in frustration at how unfair this all was.

"Hey… you guys all brought the bags with you?"

Morgana's urgent whisper brought Ren out of his reverie, right on cue as the bell signalling the end of the school day started to ring. It was still the second week of the new school year, with the pressure of homework yet to be felt by the second years, and most of their peers were slow to leave the room.

Ann, Ryuji, and Ren, however, scuttled out of their classroom as quickly as possible, making for the exit before any teacher – especially Kamoshida – thought to keep an eye on the school gates.

"Good. Here you all are. Let's get started soon."

Hiding in the corner of the building was their co-conspirator, the teenage detective, with his black Burberry beg nestled next to his legs. Ryuji and Ann dashed to Goro, trying to be as furtive and inconspicuous as possible, while Ren strolled over at a more casual pace, believing that people paid more attention when one was trying to be sneaky.

Noting his arrival, Goro – wearing his trademark smile – nodded to him, and then to Ryuji and Ann in turn.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other, Ann-chan, Ryuji-kun, Ren-kun. I trust that Morgana has explained the situation to you?"

"Yeah." Ann nodded. "It was quite a shock to see Ren appear out of nowhere in the park, and I really didn't believe him at first. It would have been more believable if Goro-kun were there too, you know?"

Ren watched as Goro's lips pressed together in a thin line.

"It's great to see you again, man, but we don't have time to chitchat." Ryuji nodded to Goro and then turned to Ren. "What do we do now?"

"We activate the Metaverse app and go into a different layer of reality." Morgana said, poking his head out of the bag he was hidden in. "Then we go into the cognitive Shujin Academy and teach Kamoshida a harder lesson."

The others were silent at this. Ren coughed and took out his phone. "Let' get going then."

With one press of his finger, the alien feeling of the world falling apart returned, only to fade away few seconds later. When Ren opened his eyes, he saw that Goro and Morgana were in their princely and bandit outfits again. Ryuji, like Goro, was wearing the outfit from Takemi's last week, as he’d half expected. The slightly rugged outfit, together with a skull-like mask on his face, made him look positively like a thug. The black fabric and leather clung to Ryuji's legs and torso, emphasising his athletic form. It was certainly an improvement on the loose Shujin uniform.

Ann, however, Ren hadn’t expected _this_.

Of the three models, Ann was the only one not dressed in the clothes they’d worn at Takemi’s photoshoot.

Instead, the blonde was clad in a seductive, skin-tight catsuit that showed off her body perfectly. Zips traced suggestive lines up and down the red leather of the outfit, emphasizing her curves, and there was even a long tail attached suggestively to the _… appropriate place_ of the one-piece outfit. The catsuit was complemented by a red mask that featured cat-like ears and almond shaped eye openings, from which her startlingly blue eyes peered.

Ren swallowed, finding himself positively unable to look away as the girl herself took in the situation, looking herself over before letting out a sigh of annoyance.

"This outfit? Seriously?" The girl shook her head, her blonde twin tails bouncing as she did. "I never really liked this one. It's so… _showy_!” She frowned, thinking for a moment. “But it did get the magazine many sales…"

"These outfits represent how society perceives you. A masked identity to protect your true self from the scrutiny of the world." Morgana perked up. "Is the outfit significant to you in any way?"

"Well… it did make me feel very confident while I was wearing it." Ann answered, raising a finger to her chin. "I didn't like it because it made all the male co-workers ogle at me or extremely uncomfortable, but it did make me feel… powerful, I guess? I’m more surprised you three are all wearing what the outfits from the last shoot."

"I like this outfit because it's my favourite out of all my gigs so far." Ryuji said defensively, looked over his own clothes appreciatively. "Even if it was the latest one."

"Takemi-san did select some pretty fine clothes." Ren concurred. "But we need to finish our business here first. Let's go back to the school and find Kamoshida."

"Good call." Goro nodded. They dashed back across the streets to the front gates of Shujin, where the teachers had by now come out to watch over the gates.

Ryuji tensed, seeing the eyes of the teachers seeming to look directly at them, only to move on to other students. Indeed, the four teens (and one cat) made their way onto school grounds without being stopped, something that the blond boy found eerie.

"They really don't notice us, huh?" Ryuji wondered aloud. The group of them went around the entire school area, passing groups of students, none of which seemed to notice them. He could tell Ryuji was still gawking disbelievingly at his own invisibility, even as they reached the track and field area behind the gym, where Kamoshida was waiting.

Ren narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene of the teacher pacing up and down behind the gym building, his eyes fixed on his cell phone.

_Damn that girl. Is she skipping on me?!_

Ann yelped and Ryuji flinched. That was Kamoshida's voice alright, but the man definitely hadn’t spoken or even moved his mouth. All four teenagers glared at Morgana, hoping for answers.

"Remember, you’re in the Metaverse." Morgana reassured them. "These are Kamoshida's thoughts you’re hearing. It's like you’re listening in to his Shadow self, his true unconsciousness that even he may not be aware of."

_I always knew Takamaki was just leading me on. I just knew it! She was teasing me constantly with the way she dressed and talked… teasing me all the time. I knew she was never serious with me. She just wanted the attention of an older man, that disgusting slut._

"You are the disgusting one here." Ann positively growled. "No one bloody led you on, and I was always dressed in the Shujin uniform!"

_I'm not surprised she's not here, but I wonder how I should punish her and her cronies._ Kamoshida continued. _Those bad boyfriends of hers who have been giving her ideas. What were their names again? Ah… Sakamoto, that was one of them. The little punk who should have hopped home with his broken leg. He_ has _been hanging out around her a whole lot, but you’d expect that of a dog in heat. And then there’s the criminal delinquent with an assault record. I bet he said all kinds of things to my Ann, filled her mind with foolishness. Now… what would be a fitting punishment for them for leading her down the wrong path. I know… I can get them both expelled from Shujin! They won't find another school in Tokyo that would take them after this!_

"He really is the scum of the earth." Ren growled. He wouldn't put it past Kamoshida to actually commit such acts, acts that could get _him_ into a world of trouble. 

_But that's all for her friends… what should I do about little Ann-chan herself…. What should I do to punish her, now she's put her cute little ass out of my way?_ Kamoshida paused in his pacing, a dark smile taking over his face. _Wait._ _Didn't she have a friend in the volleyball team, one she led me on to help? Yes… yes…that’s right. Suzui Shiho-chan. She's a nice, quiet, obedient girl. I bet she wouldn't dare defy me if I told her to come to my office. And once we were alone, I could make her bend over, open her legs…yes, she would make a good replacement for Ann-chan. Hahaha, now that'd be delicious, wouldn't it?_

Goro hefted his bag behind his shoulder. "We've listened to this filth for long enough. Why we don't start to teach him a new lesson about respecting women?"

"So… you were the ones who caused my real self to fall into the pond, hmm?"

Ann gave a yelp. Goro froze. Ryuji jumped. Ren took a step back in confusion. That was Kamoshida's voice, but it hadn’t been delivered in that kind of monologue-style, stream-of-consciousness they had been hearing. The Kamoshida in front of them turned to Goro, locking eyes with the detective, as if he could see all the teenagers clear as day.

…no, not as if. He _could_ see them, his eyes blazing with _luminescent gold_ as his mouth twisted into a crazed rictus of a grin.

" _Morgana_." Ren whispered furtively to the cat. " _What's going on_? Why is Kamoshida—"

"This… this isn't Kamoshida," Morgana replied in a quivering voice. "It's his _Shadow_."

"Shadow?" Ann cast a quick look at Morgana.

"Shadows are the manifestations of human emotions but also the representation of someone's unrecognised subconsciousness." Morgana muttered rapidly. "On a subconscious level, Kamoshida must have recognised we were interfering with him somehow. But… how could he possibly figure that out? Unless he's already aware of the Metaverse, or he's so powerful in real life that he has complete control over himself? But that's hardly possible for a high school teacher-"

"Morgana. You're rambling." Ren nudged his cat friend softly with his leg. Kamoshida, however, turned to the talking cat.

"I remember _you_." The golden-eyed Kamoshida glare at them, his voice coming out in a sibilant hiss. " _Yes_ , you were those thieves who tried to steal Ann-chan away from me! Ahh, speaking of Ann-chan…" he turned back to Ann, running his eyes up and down her figure. Instinctively, Ann covered up her chest with her arms. "You look smokin’ hot in these tight leathers, Ann-chan. Come to give me a show, did you?"

"Shut up, you disgusting pig." Goro's dulcet tones had devolved into a cracked growl. "What gives you the right to abuse your students like this?!"

"Why? What's wrong?" The Shadow Kamoshida only smiled wider. "Haven't I earned such rights with my hard work?"

"What? Of course not!" Ryuji all but exploded as he took an angry step towards Shadow Kamoshida, shoving his bag threateningly into the direction of the Shadow's face. "You’re meant to be a teacher! You’re sexually harassing all the girls and abusing all the boys! You are meant to be a _fucking teacher_ , for God’s sake!!"

"And? What’s your point, Sakamoto?" Shadow Kamoshida only shook his head. "This is the fruit of my labour. I worked hard as an athlete, made it into the national team, got an Olympic medal, and somehow, I'm not entitled to _enjoy myself_? This is how the world operates, kid. You work hard when you’re young, climbing as high as you can so you can look down onto those beneath you as an adult. And when you are up here, you would have the power to do whatever you please to those who are weaker than you. That's the rule of our world. No wonder you are doing so badly at school _and_ in society, Sakamoto. Did you _mother_ never bother to teach you these basic things?"

Ryuji's face flushed with rage, and he was visibly holding himself back in an attempt to keep himself from rushing in and trying to punch Shadow Kamoshida's face in at this very moment.

“ _Yes_ – give me an excuse, Sakamoto,” the Shadow snickered. “Maybe this time I’ll break _both_ legs, not just one, hm? And then you can watch as I play with little Ann-chan, who bothered to get all dressed up for me.”

Meanwhile, Morgana edged forward carefully, and asked a question that had bothered Ren for a while as well.

"You are… Kamoshida's Shadow, right?” the swashbuckling cat asked. “How did you figure out who we are?"

Shadow Kamoshida looked at Morgana with something like a manic grin. "Oh? You really think you would escape my attention? A delinquent. A track has-been. A slut. A cat. And some pretty boy? Did you really think you were fooling anyone? This school is my kingdom – here, my word is law. And even outside it, I am mighty. I belong to a group that controls _everything_ that goes on in Japan – rich and powerful _rulers_ who _know everything_. You brats surprised me once, but it’s over. You’re finished.”

Morgana blinked, shaken by Shadow Kamoshida's words. Ryuji, instead, grabbed Ren's arm.

"I've had enough of listening to his bullshit." The blond spat. "Enough about kings, rulers, and how we’re finished. Let's just whack him, like we agreed to do!"

"I couldn't agree more…" Ann muttered darkly as she held on to her bag.

"Good. It’s about time to make him shut up." Goro lifted his bag in unison with Ann. "On three! One, two…"

"Heh. Try your best, kids!" Shadow Kamoshida was completely unfazed, however, raising his arms into high into the air as if he was taunting them to attack.

"… Three!"

With a yell, Goro, Ryuji, and Ann all threw their weight behind their bags, slamming them towards Shadow Kamoshida's head. But the blows, thrown in concert, failed to hit their mark, as a wall of writhing darkness rose to envelope Shadow Kamoshida, hiding the figure from view.

"Hey, what are these?!" Ann stuttered as their attacks hit the darkness with a sickening squelch, with the darkness trying to pull the bags out of their hands.

"He's summoning other Shadows?!!!" Morgana's eyes widened in surprise. "He's _that_ powerful of a person?!"

The three barely managed to keep hold of their items as they strained against the suction of that wall of darkness, showing that for all their borrowed finery, they were _nothing_ before the true power of an adult.

_No._

Golden eyes appeared on the surface of the sphere, looking out at the teens. To Ren, it was almost like _that night_ with the woman was happening again. He knew what would happen if he acted – that society would crush him for trying to do the right thing.

“I can’t… it’s pulling me in!” Ann cried out, and then Ren stopped thinking.

With a howl of fury, he charged, his bag wreathed in baleful black flames as he _smashed it_ into the sphere and the darkness _screamed_.

It was a terrible sound, one that made him want to stop, to throw up in the wrath and hatred and bitterness of it all, and yet he would not. It was like that night all over again – yes, it might bring him ruin, but he wouldn’t stop because… _it wasn’t a mistake._

Like a man possessed, he slammed his bag into the Shadow again and again, with it recoiling each time, until the jelly-like goo that comprised it lost its stickiness, _letting go of the_ bags of his friends, who stumbled backwards, bags in hand.

The voids they left behind were quickly filled in by the oily substance, but the place where Ren’s bag hit… those didn’t heal, as every swing left corrosive marks etched into the Shadow's flesh.

The Shadow shrieked, launching spears of darkness from the surface of the sphere at its assailants, only to be burnt away by a pure white light, as Akechi Goro stood tall, his eyes blazing not just with conviction, but a determination not to lose, not to this Shadow, not to anyone.

“Wha…” Ryuji managed, but Goro cut him off.

"There's no going back now. We win, or we die!" Goro barked, as he batted away corrupted tendrils that sought to take out his eyes. "Unless you’re backing out, Ryuji!?”

“Oh fuck no!” the blond retorted, not about to let some detective prince do better than him. If anyone had something to prove against Kamoshida, it was _him_. “This bastard is going down.”

This time, Ryuji grabbed the bag more tightly, and instead of swinging it, rushed in, using it as a shield as he bludgeoned the grasping darkness, flashes of lightning erupting each time he struck.

And as for Ann…

“… Screw it, I don’t need someone to save me. I’m not a damsel in distress.” The girl resolved as she saw the others throw themselves against the Shadow as if their lives depended on it. “I’ll take him down or… or I’ll never forgive myself.”

She too, re-joined the attack, swinging her bag like a flail as it drove back the spines of darkness coming at her like a meteor swatting down flies, burning away the essence of the enemy.

Even Morgana joined in, head thrown back as gusts of cutting wind erupted from his dog carrier, blades of air slicing and tearing into the black sphere, making it _bleed_ , not black but _red_.

The frenzy of the assault, and the sheer power of the enraged teens, took the Shadow off guard, with its shell being torn open by wind, kept from healing by scorching whips of flame, its tendrils paralysed by lightning and _erased_ by holy light.

And in the places where its vulnerable self was exposed, black curses rushed in, corroding its essence, tearing it apart from the inside out.

Under the relentless ferocity of the all-out attack, enough of the bulbous sphere crumbled away to leave Shadow Kamoshida’s efforts vulnerable to wind, flames, light, thunder, and hellfire as the assault tore into it, burning away flesh, smashing apart bone, cutting anything exposed as the Shadow raised its hands in a futile attempt to protect its head.

“Forgive me!” it pleaded. “For – forgive me, Ann-chan!”

Takamaki Ann’s response was to yank the Shadow’s arms aside with whips of fire emanating from her bag, leaving him completely vulnerable.

"Please! For – forgive me, Ann-chan –"

"I'm not going to forgive you, and you have no right to call me Ann-chan!" Ann only lifted up her bag and stared daggers at the Shadow. "Get him, guys!"

Under the combined assault of light and fire and wind, what was left of the sphere of shadow evaporated away, with Shadow Kamoshida yelping as bag after bag landed on his face, torso, and limbs, body writhing in pain with every blow as a once sculpted, athletic form became a ruin of burnt flesh, ruined muscle, and shattered bone.

Its legs were bent at unnatural angles as Ryuji concentrated his assault on the Shadow shin and things, while its face was beaten – burnt – by Ann, turning a once good-looking countenance into something half melted, twisted and blackened flesh that covered large sections of his face.

"Please… please… _please_ stop." Shadow Kamoshida was soon unable to fight back any longer as the blows rained down, only able to beg, to plead for the punishment to stop.

"Oh yeah? Guess you never listened to my pleading when you _broke my leg_!" Even though Ryuji's words were harsh, Ren noted he had paused in slamming his bag against Shadow Kamoshida. "Is this a good enough lesson for you? Are you going to stop harassing the students at Shujin?"

"I… I…" Shadow Kamoshida cast a furtive glance at Morgana. "I don't know… Like that cat said, I'm Kamoshida's Shadow. I'm not the real him…"

Ann paused at that. She put down her bag and bent down, looking the wreck of a man in the eyes. "And? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I… I change with my master’s experiences, just like he can change with mine." Shadow Kamoshida babbled in a panic as Ann grazed her knuckles over his neck threateningly. "Even if I get him to repent now, I can't promise he will truly repent forever. As long as he has the power and fame that he earned, and society encourages winners to exploit the less powerful, he could still end up harassing students at a later time."

"Then… what if we completely destroy you?” Goro asked, his tone ice cold. “What would that do to the real Kamoshida?"

"He… he would die!" Shadow Kamoshida squealed in terror. "Humans can't live without a subconscious! It'd be like living with only half a brain! He would die instantly the moment you kill me!"

"Ryuji, Ann, what do you think?" Ren presented the decision to the two people whom he felt really had a say. At the end of the day, Morgana, Goro, and Ren were still outsiders to Shujin – they were tangentially involved with this.

It was people like Ryuji and Ann who had suffered under Kamoshida, who deserved _retribution_.

"I hate his guts and I wish he would rot in hell, but I don’t want his blood on my hands." Ryuji leaned back, surveying what he had already done. He’d been lost in the moment, in the need to destroy, to win, to live. But now …

"I agree." Ann said, straightening as a whip of flame caressed Shadow Kamoshida’s neck, as if promising very bad things if it tried to resist. "I have a better idea, something that will hopefully make his _master_ never even _think_ about abuse students again. Morgana, you said that the Metaverse is a place where thoughts affect reality, didn't you?"

"Huh? Yes, yes, I did, Lady Ann!" The cat jumped up and down in agreement.

"Then I'm going to make a wish with my entire being." Ann picked up her bag again. "I will wish that all the things Kamoshida held onto as his pride and joy, the things that made him think he was good enough to grope girls and torment boys, to rule over others – that these would all be _destroyed_."

Ryuji and Goro both blinked. Ann only continued.

"I wish that all of Kamoshida's physical prowess, his Olympic victory, all of it – would mean nothing to him. I wish that the powerful friends he has, the ones who protected him even from the police, would be left unable to help him. You’re right – I don’t want Kamoshida to die – I want him to enjoy a fate _worse than_ death, to live a long, long life of suffering and pain, knowing full well that there are consequences for his disgusting actions. Can you carry out my wish, Shadow Kamoshida?”

"I… I… yes." Faced with Ann's vengeful fury, Shadow Kamoshida only shivered and replied instinctively.

"Good. Then let’s finish this,” Ann gestured to Ryuji.

“No, wait…”

“I know you like to hit students so hard that their bodies fly across the room. So, let’s send you flying back into your body, hm? With as hard a whack as we can."

"I… what? Please no-!" Shadow Kamoshida wasn't given any time to plead as Ann and Ryuji swung their bags as if they were steel golf bats. The Shadow was easily knocked off the ground and _flew_ back into Kamoshida, who went still for a moment and then collapsed, his body twitching and jerking as if he’d had a seizure.

The four teenagers and one cat looked at each other, then to the teacher, wondering what to do now.

In the silence, Ren was the one to speak.

"Let's get out of here. Go back through the school and exit from the front gate. We'll head back out of the Metaverse from where we entered. Hopefully no one would see us that way."

The group went back through the cognitive Shujin in silence, Ryuji putting a hand on Ann's shoulder to steady her. When they re-emerged back into reality, both Ryuji and Ann looked shaken yet determined.

"I'm going to tell Shiho to lay low for a few days." Ann said softly. "Just in case something happens with Kamoshida. In fact, we should all do the same."

"Agreed." Goro nodded. "I don't know what might happen with Kamoshida, but you Shujin students all need to be careful."

They parted ways with these cautious words. It was only once Ren had boarded the train that Morgana wriggled in his bag, indicating that he wanted to talk. Ren unzipped the bag, only to find his feline friend looking a bit downtrodden.

"I don't quite understand what happened…" Morgana muttered to himself. "How did Kamoshida's Shadow ever get the drop on us?"

"Maybe it was like you said, Kamoshida is actually a very powerful person in reality?" Ren offered, trying to be helpful.

Morgana shook his head. "He's still only a high school teacher…" With that, he put his cute little head on his front paws and pouted, and nothing Ren said would cheer him up him for the remainder of the night.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

The next day, the sun rose again, and Ren went to back to Shujin with his cat. As agreed, he tried to keep a low profile. He didn't head in too early or too late, wore the uniform tidily – but not too tidily – and carried himself like everyone else. Ann and Ryuji were doing the same, he saw, as they were staying away from each other, trying to keep from appearing too friendly. Ren kept to himself.

All this feigned tranquillity was broken when homeroom started, however. Their homeroom teacher rushed into the room to let the students know there was a school-wide assembly happening _right now_ , and that all students were required to attend. As masses of students filed into the corridors and into the school hall, Ren noted their rotund principal was standing ready at the podium, his face looking anything but pleased. Ryuji tugged at Ren’s sleeve as they stood in cue and Ren shifted closer to the blond. Students chattered in subdued voices all around them, evidently confused about the purpose behind this sudden morning assembly.

Principal Kobayakawa coughed into the microphone, and the hall fell into a tense silence.

"Students." The man looked around at the students. "I have something to tell about you about an incident that happened last night. It concerns Kamoshida-sensei."

Ryuji let out a long breath. Looking to his side, Ren saw that Anne was hugging herself tight, her eyes fixed on the principal.

"To start off, I would like to state that as of today, Kamoshida Suguru is no longer a teacher employed by Shujin Academy."

There were gasps from the students, as Ryuji, Ann, and Ren exchanged unsure glances.

"Kamoshida confessed to a number of crimes last night. Speaking to the police, he admitted to sexually harassing female students and physically abusing male students here in Shujin. As a representative of the school board, I will state that the staff absolutely abhors his terrible behaviour, and deeply regrets the negative impact it has had on the student body. He has now been transferred into police custody, and his vile behaviour in Shujin was published in an express morning edition of _Tokyo Today._ We, the staff of Shujin, will stand firmly behind our students and wholeheartedly support the upcoming police investigation. If any of you are approached by the police or the media for comments, please refer them to one of the deputy principals or to me." Kobayakawa continued, his face set with a determination few ever saw from the man. "If you have any questions, please refer them to your homeroom teachers, who are encouraged to then speak with me."

With that, the students were dismissed.

In no time, everyone in Shujin was on their phone, checking out the website for the _Tokyo Today_ newspaper, with the teachers were too stunned to care about students openly breaking school rules. Ryuji, Ann and Ren huddled together, reading the text on Ann's phone.

"It seems he stumbled out to the road behind Shujin, fell onto the road, and…was run over by a truck, shattering his legs?" Ann said slowly in a low voice. "When he was rushed to the hospital, the injuries to his legs were so severe that they had no choice but to amputate. And… as soon as he recovered from the operation, he contacted the police and confessed his crimes!"

"What the hell…" Ryuji let out an incredulous breath. "I guess… does this mean… _our actions_ got his legs amputated? That your wish…"

"… It’s possible." Morgana poked his head out of Ren's bag. "Like I said, the Metaverse changes reality based on cognition. Due to what we did to Kamoshida’s Shadow, it’s possible that Kamoshida's internal state changed greatly when his subconsciousness was reintegrated. And he… he might then have done something drastic." He paused. “Or he could have just stumbled and gotten run over. He wasn’t looking so good when we left him.”

"We will have to get together outside of Shujin to discuss this amongst ourselves. With Goro as well." Ren nodded, his mind racing as he said this. What exactly had happened with Kamoshida? _Was_ it purely because of how they beat up Shadow Kamoshida? Was it a coincidence? Was it the wish? Or was there something else?

He couldn’t help but wonder if Goro had done something after they parted ways yesterday, as a _guarantee_ that things would go as Ann wished?

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

In Shinjuku, a short-haired woman was grinning happily as she lounged about in a bar, swirling a drink in her hands despite the upturned chairs in the room around her. The bar was definitely not open for business, and the tall and portly proprietor was not trying to hide it in the slightest.

“Ichiko! Get out! You can’t drink here forever!”

"Don't be so mean now, Lala-chan!" This "Ichiko" wriggled in her seat and simply refused to move. "I'm the one who got the big scoop for _Tokyo Today_ last night, the biggest scoop I could have wished for in my career! Aren't you going to be happy for me??"

“Lala-chan” only frowned.

"Hehe. But I really should thank my source first." Looking like she was already half drunk, Ichiko wobbled a bit as she pulled out her phone. "Mmm, there we go! _Thanks for your tipoff last night, A-kun. Really appreciate it. Love you_!!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a picture of Ryuji's bag, see [ here. ](https://www.vestiairecollective.com/women-bags/handbags/ralph-lauren-collection/black-python-ricky33-ralph-lauren-collection-handbag-7373967.shtml)
> 
> For a picture of Ann's bag, see [ here. ](https://vestiairecollective.imgix.net/produit/7749160-1_3_3.jpg?&w=224&h=224&auto=compress&fm=pjpg&ch=DPR&dpr=2&fit=crop)


	7. For Justice

"You made it!"

Ann's delighted exclamation got both Ren and Ryuji to look up from their plate, with Ryuji lifting his arm to give an eager wave as well. Peeking out from behind Ryuji, Ren saw Goro hurrying into the fancy buffet restaurant they were seated in, located in posh and glamorous Ginza. They had arrived at this place about half an hour ago and were in the process of gorging themselves on food as celebration for what they had achieved against Kamoshida.

Seeing them, Goro pushed past the patrons clustered at the entrance and approached their table in quick strides, his hair a little messy and an apologetic smile plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry. I got here as fast as I could from work. How's the food?"

"Really awesome. Thanks for getting us discount coupons, man. How do you even manage to do that?" Ryuji gulped down a mouthful of meat as he replied with his emphatic nod, before washing it down with a swig of water.

"That's what celebrity status can get you." Goro winked mischievously as he set his bag down on the sofa next to Ann. "Well, I'm glad to know this place is as good as people have said. I'm going to get some food."

Ren's eyes followed the detective as the latter went around to where the buffet was served, his tall figure sneaking past other customers idling near the long tables. The group had called for a meeting over food and Goro had suggested this place, as he had some discount coupons for it, thanks to his rising fame. As he watched the detective, Ren put down his chopsticks. Seeing that, Ann and Ryuji paused too.

"I know what you're thinking." Ann turned to Ren, her expression contemplative as she put her hand to her chin. "I really do want to pick Goro-kun's brain on what happened to you-know-who. You guys do too, right?"

Ren shrugged as if he couldn't have cared less, sneaking a piece of prime tuna into his bag and hearing Morgana's muffled _meow_ of thanks. However, his eyes didn't leave the detective. "Let the man eat first. This isn't an interrogation."

"Yeah yeah I know. And don't play favourites now." Ryuji nudged Ren. "But okay, let's go about this naturally with our detective. I don't mind if he really did something with that scumbag teacher. Kamoshida deserves what he got anyways."

Morgana _meowed_ his consent in Ren's bag.

Ren nodded just as Goro returned to the table, plate in hand. The group indulged in small talk as the detective sat down, speculating about the meeting they would have with Takemi at her studio later in the afternoon, which made this catch up even more convenient. Ann poked Goro and teased him for already having some fancy desserts on his plate. Goro laughed rather uncomfortably and begrudgingly admitted he, like Ann, might just have a bit of a sweet tooth.

It was when they all finished eating that Ann finally broached the topic.

"Goro-kun, you've heard about what happened with Kamoshida, right? Do you think what we did was the reason behind his accident…behind his amputation?"

Ren watched as the detective fixed his eyes on Ann and crossed his arms.

"That'd be a hard question for anyone to answer, given how we stepped into the Metaverse." Slowly, Goro shifted his gaze to look at all the Shujin students in the eye, finally turning to the bag next to Ren's thigh. "In fact, wouldn't Morgana be able to answer it better than any of us?"

The said cat wriggled and poked its head out of Ren's bag, his voice hushed in case someone spotted him in the restaurant. "What happened to Kamoshida is possible… in theory. Strictly speaking, just beating up his Shadow and telling the Shadow what you want it to do _could_ alter the real person's thoughts and feelings, but it isn’t that likely. Right now, given that you are all manifesting bags and not… anything else, I wasn't expecting you to be able to change Kamoshida's circumstances to that extent."

Ren narrowed his eyes and bent down towards the cat, curious about what Morgana was alluding to. "What kind of other things could we have manifested, apart from those symbols of money and power?"

"Personas… the true strength of the soul." The cat muttered, its head lowered. "A Persona is the result of someone in complete control of their psyche, acknowledging and accepting all their weaknesses and strengths. It's the greatest weapon a mortal can have in the Metaverse. Not many humans have achieved it, though. I’ve certainly never heard of any instances."

Ren saw Goro tilting his head, his expression shifting to one of curiosity, though it disappeared so quickly he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it.

"So, what was your concern?” The detective asked. “That we were the ones who destroyed Kamoshida's body?"

"Well… I own up to what I said to Shadow Kamoshida, and I don't regret making him suffer." Ann replied in a firm voice. "But if this is what a mere wish can do in the Metaverse, we have to be careful what we wish for. What if we accidentally affect someone who is innocent? What if our wishes become exaggerated when they are fulfilled?"

"Changing reality via a change in cognition isn’t very common at the level of the Metaverse we were operating on." Morgana said, as if to try and reassure Ann. "You guys are quick learners with your powers, but the edge of the Metaverse isn't a powerful enough place to make wishes come true. Not like that.” The cat shook its head. “Basically, from where you were, you couldn’t have changed his cognition like _that_ after just one fight. At most, he would have realised his horrible ways and apologised to the students he hurt. He wouldn’t stumble out and… try to kill himself.”

"What is it you are trying to say, Morgana?" Goro turned his maroon eyes to the cat, his expression neutral and flat.

"… Someone might have given Kamoshida a _helping hand, if you get my drift_. That’s the most logical explanation I can think of." The cat's tone was convinced.

The four teenagers all looked at each other. Ren knew that while he could vouch for himself and Morgana, he had no ways of knowing what his teammates had been up to on that afternoon. Since they could all access the Metaverse via their own phones, it was entirely possible that one or more of them followed Kamoshida and gave the teacher an extra… push. This problem had been bothering Morgana for the past few days, and Ren was glad the cat finally had gotten it off his chest. But voicing his suspicions out in the open wasn't creating the best situation for the team as they all sat there, staring at each other.

"Morgana and I simply wanted to put this concern on the table." Ren looked around at the others as he put on his authoritative voice, a role he had noticed himself slipping into whenever he entered the Metaverse. "We are not accusing anyone of anything. Besides, I believe we all agree that Kamoshida got what he deserved." Here he glanced at his other companions. None showed signs of disagreement. "I've said before and I'll say again that this is not an interrogation. Let's all agree to let the others know if we enter the Metaverse and do something on our own, alright? In case whatever we do alone ends up affecting our team."

Nobody said anything. Ren took it as a sign of agreement.

"The other question we need to make a decision about is _this_." Ren took out his phone and placed it face-up on the table. Even though the screen was not lit, the team knew what he was referring to, judging from Ryuji and Goro's furrowed brows. "What are we going to do with our power to access the Metaverse, now that Kamoshida is dealt with?"

The three other teenagers exchanged meaningful glances again. Unwilling to be left out of this conversation, Morgana poked his head out of Ren's bag for good, his ears perked up attentively.

"I… I don't really know what we should do about this." Ann was the first one to look up and answer. "Yes, Kamoshida is gone, but that phone app… it’s still on our phones, right? That app refuses to stay deleted no matter what we try.” She sighed. “I think that even if we decided to get out of this business, that app will still be there, tempting us.”

"Kamoshida isn’t the only trashy adult out there." Ryuji sniffed. "Like Goro said before, Kamoshida wasn’t gonna get charged if we left him alone. I say we should keep this power in case we need to deal with more bad adults in the future!"

"And don't forget you picked me up from the Metaverse!" Morgana mewled eagerly. "I still want to go back to being human! There are lots of areas of the Metaverse that you haven't explored yet, and I really want to find clues about myself. Please don't write off helping me…"

"To be completely honest with you, our Metaverse adventure really opened up my eyes to the failures of the Japanese justice system." Goro joined the conversation, his hand on his chin. "Sure, I knew the system was shit, but seeing Kamoshida walking away from so many potential charges made me sick. Japan might have one of the highest conviction rates in the world, but that’s only because prosecutors won’t take a case to court unless they are sure the suspect will be convicted.” He frowned, then. “Kamoshida would never have been brought to justice because there wasn’t enough evidence and no willing prosecutors. I cannot let that stand." He looked around, his mouth set in a tight, thin line. "In fact, I would like to request that we use our abilities to help fix this broken system. With our powers, we can uncover evidence of crimes committed by truly heinous adults, things the police might miss. I would be honoured if you could join me in such a venture."

"Are you serious…?" Ryuji gawked at Goro. "You… you want us to work with the police?"

"I'll make sure we are paid." Goro nodded as if that was the only problem at hand.

There was a significant pause as Ryuji, Ann, Morgana, and Ren all looked at each other, with Goro staying perfectly still, his face pleasant and patient, as if he hadn't just flipped the conversation on its head.

"What are you saying, exactly?" Ann leaned forward. "You’re honestly seeking help from people like us? Are there really so many cases like Kamoshida's?"

"Well… if you’ve read my public profile, you know that I have a particular interest in crimes against women, families, and children." Goro gritted his teeth. "Being Japan, sexual harassment or domestic violence claims are given little to no attention, especially if the men involved are rich or powerful, and the victims… are not. The Tokyo PD even has a stack of un-investigated cases, because of the suspect being too powerful or the case being deemed a low priority. Unfortunately, as the intern, these are often shoved onto my desk. Tackling violent crimes and break-ins is one thing, but these kinds of more psychologically damaging cases can ruin someone's life equally badly. I would love to be able to help these victims if I can."

Ann and Ryuji looked at each other. Morgana shook his furry little head. "Even so, shouldn't the police have access to better detectives than us? And you were the one who said that this is very prone to exploitation - how is this going to stand up to court?"

"You are exactly right. However, I believe we are grounded enough not to exploit this power." Goro sighed. "Let me explain the problem here in more detail. Everyone, do you know what the conviction rate is for criminals prosecuted in the Japanese court system?"

Ann and Ryuji looked lost. Ren narrowed his eyes.

"Ninety-nine-point-nine percent." The bespectacled boy answered in a low voice.

Goro's sharp eyes shifted to him briefly. "Correct. On average, 99.9% of criminals are convicted _– if a prosecutor is willing to bring their case before a judge_. That number may appear significant, but what it reflects is an utter refusal to prosecute even if there is one shred of doubt. Remember, prosecutors are expected to get convictions on every case they take to trial, so those who want to be promoted – no, those who don’t want to be fired for wasting resources – actively avoid taking any case they can’t guarantee victory in. When you consider that judges are part of that system, too, and that Kamoshida had powerful patrons, it's no wonder his case was deemed too insignificant to prosecute.  You asked whether there were a lot of people like him? Well, there are. It is far too often that the police have a strong suspicion, but lack evidence that is absolutely waterproof, especially for people who have powerful friends looking out for them."

Ann's face was pensive as she replied again. "I understand what you're saying completely, Goro-kun. You’re exactly right. Shujin students like us made so many complaints, but the police always brushed us off because we didn't have any _real_ evidence. They said that Ryuji had grudges against Kamoshida and wasn’t a reliable witness. They even threatened to prosecute Ryuji for slander… it was one big game of passing the ball around, where no one was willing to look our way. I was sick and tired of it. If we can stop even a single terrible adult like him from hurting more children, I… I wouldn't mind using our power for that purpose at all."

"I agree with Ann, yeah. But I want you to spell out what you want." Ryuji grumbled, still not sold on the idea. "What exactly do you want us to do? Sneak around? Spy on people? Smack people like we did with Kamoshida?"

"Probably not that last option." Goro gave a smirk, the ends of his mouth tilting more into a sneer than a smile. Ren felt his heart skip a beat as he saw a glimpse of the cruel and calculating Akechi Goro he had seen during the photoshoot and then in the Metaverse, a part of the Detective Prince that Goro usually hid from the world. "I believe we can use our newfound powers of invisibility to shadow suspects, find out what they are up to, and what they are hiding. If we can manage to produce solid evidence on these criminals, and relay what we learn to the police, we can make sure these people are brought to justice."

"And the police wouldn't question _how_ we came across such evidence?" Morgana rubbed his nose on Ren's leg.

"It is no secret that police all around the world consult psychics or mediums for cold cases." Goro gave a dismissive wave. "The Japanese police is no different. Yes, logic is paramount during cross-examination, but not everything we come across is logical. I've been sent to ask Shinto priests, modern psychics, and every other religious seer in between when there were no leads for a case. As long as it unveils the truth at the end of the day, no one asks any questions… and it would be a lot cheaper than the psychic I usually have to pay for help"

Morgana wriggled uncomfortably in Ren's bag. Ryuji scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Look, when I'm not at school, I'm just out here earning some money to help my Ma. That's the whole reason I got into modelling from the start. I'm not looking for trouble, especially legal trouble. If any of the work you want us to do is shady, I'm out."

"Hey, I'm not looking for trouble either." Goro spread out his hands in a placating gesture. "All I want is to see justice carried out. Besides, I am putting my neck out with yours. I wouldn't want to get involved with anything that could ruin my public image. I do want to be a career detective, after all."

"What do you think?" Morgana asked, and Ren knew the question was directed at him. Morgana, he thought, must be concerned about Ren’s criminal history, since he had informed the cat the reasons behind his current status in Tokyo. That, combined with how he was living with Niijima Sae, meant Ren had to be extra careful with any… other brushes he had with the justice system.

However, Ren wasn’t exactly one for caution when there were people to help.

If he was the kind of person who was careful and cautious, he would not have stepped out to save a stranger on that fateful night, woman or not. He would not have endured his unjust punishment so stoically. He certainly wouldn’t have owned up to the illogical result of his actions even though he knew it was not fair.

For Amamiya Ren to refuse Akechi Goro’s offer… would have been impossible.

"I say we should do it." Ren gave a decisive nod. "If it means putting criminals currently beyond the reaches of the law behind bars, then I do not see a reason to say no. However," here he turned to Goro, "we will need a unanimous decision to take any case you bring forward. If even a single one of us does not feel comfortable, we would refuse that case."

"I understand. It is a necessary precaution." Goro nodded in assent.

Ren would have voted to keep being involved in the Metaverse even if the detective hadn't sprung this proposal on them. He for one refused to believe that they had just somehow gotten this magical power for no reason. Besides, the Metaverse and all the layers of it that they had yet to explore bothered him, leaving him with question. Questions like: what exactly was that auction house he and Goro had landed in? What was the purpose of the faceless waiting staff? Why did such a world even exist? What were these _personas_ Morgana spoke of?

All those questions were still unanswered, and Ren wasn’t planning on stopping until he got to the bottom of at least _some_ of them.

"We should have a name for our team, then!" Ryuji grinned. "It would suck if we just have to refer to this is as… ‘group work‘, or something lame, y'know?"

"We are a team now?" Goro raised his eyebrow.

"We aren't?" Ren allowed a hint of amusement to sparkle in his eye. "We’re definitely a team in the eyes of the public, given our modelling."

"And since you've bonded through going into the collective subconsciousness of humanity, you have good reasons to consider yourselves teammates." Morgana added, licking his white paws and yawning like a well-fed cat. "Or are you going to dispute that, Goro?"

Goro huffed and sat back. He was still dressed in his beige, suit-like school uniform. With his arms crossed, it made him look more like a grumpy officer than ever.

"I know! Speaking of modelling, we already have the perfect name lined up for us!" Ann clapped her hands. "We’re the ‘Phantom Thieves', are we not? Once the pictures get published, we’ll totally have a reason to hang out together. The modelling would be the perfect cover."

"You're right!" Ryuji grinned. "I like that. It sounds cool, and we can kill two birds with one stone. I mean, we can have Phantom Thieves business, and also Phantom Thieves _business_ , right?"

Goro just sighed. "I have never had a modelling gig this messed up."

Ren chuckled. "Well, join the club."

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

After confirming that they would be The Phantom Thieves officially from now on, the four of them jumped on the train to head to Takemi's photo studio. Their pictures from last week were polished and ready to go and could now be viewed on the website of _Monthly Youth Style_.

Before the magazine committed to _publishing_ them in print, however, Takemi had been kind enough to give the models a chance to review the pictures themselves. This was something Ren knew many publishers and photographers wouldn't have bothered doing, as they considered the photos _their_ vision, not that of the models. However, since Okumura Entertainment was keen to get the demographics right, they saw a need to get some feedback from the models.

Still, the pictures had apparently already earned some critical acclaim in the publishing house. That was a good start.

The photographer looked positively puzzledly as the four teenagers walked through the door together, and Ren didn't blame her for her confusion. After all, it was almost a rule that models didn't become friends with each other. Yes, one needed to have a network to get jobs, but if one got too close, that was a recipe for having your career sabotaged. To have a group that actually, genuinely bonded was very much a rarity.

Morgana rolled over in Ren's bag and purred, reminding Ren that they were, in fact, in a rare situation. The cat was right - no one had expected to enter a different layer of reality, then got an evil adult punished for his crimes. Ren, Ryuji, and Ann were now fast friends at Shujin, spending all their break time together, laughing and joking about their similarities and differences. Ren didn't even need Makoto to help him blend in anymore, and he could see it was to the student council president's relief as well. Even Sae gave a small encouraging smile when Ren and Makoto explained that the boy had already made friends.

But… Ren looked sideways, at the tall, brown-haired figure greeting Takemi with a sweet smile. If he had learnt to read Ryuji and Ann like a book, then Goro… well, the detective was like a broken television set whose screen was covered in static, with a tantalising glimpse of a scene or two appearing only every once in a while. There was so much that the detective did not reveal to the world and this fascinated Ren, as if the boy was a puzzle he needed to solve. The more he struggled with his inability to read Goro, the more interesting the detective became in Ren's eyes, with the allure of the mystery enriched even further by the subtle hints he had obtained from Iwai and Goro's own behaviour.

He made a mental note to address that with Goro sometime soon.

"Alright. Now that you’re all here, come along, come along." Takemi clapped as if she was a school teacher and led the models into the meeting room. A laptop was displaying the images from their photoshoot and Ryuji was the first one to rush up, positively gawking as he studied the pictures.

"Holy! Takemi-san, you're awesome as always!"

The rest of the models crowded up around Ryuji, and Ann and Goro joined in showering Takemi with praise. Ren admitted he was impressed too. The first few pictures were the group shots and Ren knew how bad things had been for him and Goro at that stage. And yet, Takemi managed to capture all the times when Goro accidentally moved mid-shot or when Ren absent-mindedly looked away from the camera, only she’d framed them as if those incidents had been deliberate, making their mishaps look… cool. The narrative of three rascals bothering Goro's princely character made everyone have a good laugh, too. It did seem the good prince was getting quite flustered by the misbehaving jester, blunt thug, and alluring seductress.

The individual pictures followed, with Ren thinking he was much better in _those_. In fact, when his solo pictures came up, Ryuji outright whistled and nudged Ren, with Ann raising her eyebrows at him too. Admittedly, Ren was wearing an extremely cocky grin behind his white masquerade mask, his body language confident and almost showy as he stretched his long limbs languidly in front of the camera. Combined with some post effects that Takemi had subtly added, he looked like the very embodiment of male seduction. Even Goro coughed uncomfortably into his glove as they moved through the rest of Ren's pictures, and Ren distinctly saw Goro's cheeks flush a light shade of pink.

Goro's pictures were up next, with Ann casting surprised glances towards the detective. Gone was the pleasant and charming boy. In his place was a reserved and determined young man who faced the camera head-on, flashing an almost cruel smile that hinted at his desire for dominance and control. Ren caught Goro looking at him, the detective's lips stretched into a challenging grin. In response, Ren put his hand on his cheek, batted his eyelashes, and gave Goro a coy smile that could almost be considered as _inviting_.

Akechi Goro looked away, cradling his forehead in his hand, as they moved on to Ryuji's pictures.

Thankfully, the blond didn't make his images as suggestive or martial as Ren and Goro did. Ryuji portrayed a rough but genuine young man, who’d had it hard in life but hadn't lost the goodness in his heart. The skull mask hid his features, but his casual pose conveyed the message of just an "ordinary young guy". It was simple yet relatable, a fellow down on his luck but having not given up on the joys of life. The shots emphasised the angle of Ryuji's jaw and his toned muscles, and Ren nodded appreciatively. It was definitely a nice contrast to the theatrics of Ren and Goro.

And Ann's pictures were last. Ren swallowed thickly as she appeared on the screen, looking like an old-style femme fatale. She was clad in a long red dress that clung to her body similar to a Chinese-style _qipao_ , complete with a high slit of the dress on the outside of her left leg, going all the way up to mid-thigh. The dress showed off her figure magnificently, leaving very little to the imagination. The coquettish smile she wore underneath her red, cat shaped mask seemed chillingly dangerous and sweetly welcoming at the same time, promising the sweetest of pleasures as well as the most exquisite of pains. The label Takemi had given Ann was 'The Seductress', and it was most certainly what Ann resembled in that picture.

"Man… We all look amazing!" Ren felt Ryuji's exclamation about summed their feelings up. Takemi looked over, eyes glinting with pride.

"More like you kids are getting better with every gig! And you, Ren-chan - I was definitely surprised with you. When the agency referred you to me, I was honestly a bit worried, but you are one upcoming model to look out for."

"You flatter me, Takemi-san." Ren bowed politely. He usually tried to keep his head down and not receive praise if he could, but with Takemi being so direct… he didn't know how he could get out of it.

"Does this mean Okumura Entertainment is happy with how the pictures turned out? Will the project be continued at its current stage?" Ann, the one who seemed to take modelling most seriously, asked the important questions.

"This project is most certainly going to stay around." Takemi nodded. "Good models. Keen sponsors. What's there not to like? Okumura wants to move on to promoting the sponsor's clothes from now on. The four of you are gonna be back on Monday afternoon to do our next photoshoot. No doubt about that."

"Yes!" Ann jumped excitedly, high-fiving with Ryuji. Even Goro smiled to himself and nodded. The project continuing meant they would all be paid more, and anything one could put on your resume as a model was to be treasured – especially something on this scale.

"However, I'm going to change up your in-character names a bit." Takemi tapped the table, signal for the teenagers to calm down. "Some of you are good as you are, fitting into your roles as well as I could hope for." Here she nodded at Ren. "But others… well, you weren’t quite comfortable with what you had to portray…" Here she spared a glance for Goro. "As such, I’ll be changing those ideas a bit. I'll let you know when you're back here on Monday."

Given that it was already Saturday and the week was effectively over, the teens decided to part ways for good when they left Takemi's studio. The four of them waved goodbye to each other as they stood on the streets outside of Shibuya Station, basking in the last rays of the setting sun. Ann and Ryuji lived in the same general direction and had to run for their train, leaving Ren and Goro on the street level. But just when Ren looked down at his phone to check when his own train was due, a gloved hand sneaked up from behind and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you have some time for us to have a chat?" Goro said in a low, constrained voice. "In private?"

"Um. Sure." Ren blinked, not expecting this from the detective at all.

"I don't suppose you can drop Morgana off somewhere?" Goro narrowed his eyes, his hand still on Ren's shoulder.

"What! No!" Morgana instantly protested, poking his head out of Ren’s shoulder bag. "Please don't drop me in the middle of Shibuya. I would be so lost! Besides…" The cat stared at Goro. "Why would you want to get rid of me? Are you thinking of going anywhere that's not cat friendly?"

Goro crinkled his nose. "More like… I would really appreciate a truly, completely private conversation with Ren."

Ren noted that all of his friends have decided to go on first name basis as of today.

"Well, what are you getting at?" Morgana narrowed his blue feline eyes. "And where would be most private for central Tokyo?"

"Here's the thing." Goro gave a small grin. "I was hoping to have a chat in the Metaverse."

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

"What?! No way!" Morgana was practically trying to wriggle the bag off Ren's shoulder. Ren had to shift the bag to his front and grab the cat with both hands to stop Morgana's upset struggles. "What are you saying? And just after Ren stated we shouldn't mess with the Metaverse unless we were together as a group, too?!?"

"We're not _messing_ with the Metaverse. We are only going into the top layer for a chat that I don't want other people to hear." Goro held up both of his hands, trying to placate the cat.

"I - what?!" Morgana gave a full body shiver. "You are one weird human! People don't go to another world just a have a conversation they want to keep private! They'd usually… have that conversation at home, or something!"

"Unfortunately, that's not an option for Ren and I." Goro replied. "Do you really think we should have a conversation in Sae-san's house?"

"What about your place?" Ren questioned.

"Not an option either. My apartment is… well, let's just say I do still want to keep some pride in front of you." Goro made an embarrassed chuckle, and Ren found himself temporarily wondering what the detective’s apartment might look like. How embarrassing would it turn out to be?

"Even if you want to go into the Metaverse, we can't do it at Shibuya station!" Morgana was not stopping his protests. "There are so many people here! What if some people here recognised you?"

"People could recognise us…?" Ren could see Goro's brain pausing a little as the detective tried to understand Morgana's words. “Even if we were in the Metaverse?”

"Yes! I said this a while ago! People who are rich and powerful in real life are self-possessed enough to see through your 'invisibility', especially in the upper layers of Metaverse where reality converges with the cognitive." Morgana puffed out his cheeks, something that Ren thought made the cat look extra cute. "Deep in the Metaverse, we would be able to tell these people apart from the rest. But up in the top layer, they'd look like ordinary humans and you need to rely on your life experience to avoid them. Thousands of people go past Shibuya station every hour… there's no guarantee they are all ordinary salarymen."

"So, we'll need to find some place where there are not a lot of people, and we won't draw attention…" Goro put his gloved hand to his chin. "Right. I see. Then, let's go to Inokashira Park."

"Isn't that kinda far - " Ren didn't get to finish his sentence when he found his companion already turning around to head into Shibuya Station. Goro was, apparently, leading Ren to the station without giving the black-haired boy time to object, making Ren run just to catch up with him.

What did Goro want to talk about so badly? Ren couldn’t help but wonder as he followed along, boarding the train in silence right behind Goro.

Once onboard, Ren looked at Goro with a questioning gaze, which the detective chose to ignore. So, he waited, following as they disembarked at the station for Inokashira Park, following along the road to the park, and finally following into the park itself, with Goro leading him forward, ever deeper, away from the popular pond and the places people spent time.

"Well, this should be as good a place as any." As if he had an optimal density of people in mind, Goro strode forward and made his way to a bench by the footpath. He sat, then patted the seat next to him. It was an obvious invitation to sit, and Ren saw little choice but to comply. Putting his bag on the bench as well, he sat down, allowing Morgana to wriggle his head out of the bag.

"Alright. What do you want?" Morgana's voice sounded resigned now. 

"A private conversation, like I stated before." Goro waved his phone around a little. For anyone else, the gesture would have appeared childish, but the tight corners of Goro's mouth indicated to Ren that the other boy was probably trying to hide a rising tide of irritation.

"We'll be okay, Morgana." Ren decided to speak up and get this over with. "Could you please wander around the park a little?"

Morgana gave out a sigh and freed himself from the bag. "If you guys get into trouble in the Metaverse, just yell. I won't be too far away."

Goro watched the cat jump off the bench and disappear into the bushes. Then he pressed the button, and Ren felt the disturbing sensation of entering the Metaverse yet again. He did not take his eyes off Goro during the shift and noted the detective did not show any signs of discomfort.

"What do you want to talk about, Goro?"

"The things you heard from Iwai." Goro's dark red eyes narrowed behind his mask. "I feel that you’re the type who would keep ruminating over that information the longer I avoid it. So, allow me to explain myself."

Ren didn't think he wanted to hear Goro's proffered – and prepared – explanation. He would have much preferred questioning the detective himself. But he nodded anyways.

"Like I said before, Tokyo PD leaves Iwai alone in exchange for having him as an informant." Goro started. "That didn't mean he necessarily likes the police. Given that I am… a highly publicised figure in the force, I often tagged along with senior officers when contacting him. He obviously got it into his head that I had the patronage of _certain individuals_ in order to become who I am today."

Here Goro paused, almost gritting his teeth.

"So, I wasn't surprised at Iwai's incivility when we visited. I don't expect that to change in the near future - "

"I don't believe that about Iwai."

" - and I ask you to - What?" Goro turned his head sharply to look at Ren, the beak on his mask a sharp sabre aimed at Ren's face.

"Iwai probably has a lot of misgivings about you, but he is mostly uncomfortable with how intense and obsessed you get with your detective work." Ren replied evenly. "Or am I wrong?"

"What? Why would he - how do you know this?" Goro glared at Ren.

"Well, Ryuji and Ann had to get bags somehow." Ren shrugged.

"Right… you _did_ go with them to a known yakuza's shop." Goro murmured, almost incredulous. "Criminal or not, you have balls of steel."

"You'd have done the same thing in my shoes." Ren replied evenly. "Just like I would have worked incredibly hard and did everything I could to prove myself if I was in your situation - worked so hard that even adults feared me for the lengths I'd go to."

Goro leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. It was a sign for Ren to keep going.

"Why homicides against women and children, though?" Ren questioned. "Even grown men and seasoned detectives find those cases to be too much for their psyche, without much of a chance of the cases ever being solved."

"Cowards, all of them. If you asked _them_ why I do it, they'll probably say it's because I'm after the glory of solving gruesome cases." Goro sneered. "I only take these cases on because I can't let such horrible transgressions against helpless victims go past me. I won't let such despicable acts go unpunished."

"Why such a hurry to climb the ladder at our age, though?" Ren wondered aloud. "We still have most of our lives ahead of us, at least career-wise. We’re still young…"

"Are we?" Goro chuckled, a sound utterly devoid of mirth. "Sometimes I feel like I've already seen too much and lived far too long."

Ren kept his eyes on Goro. Thanks to the red mask, it was impossible to discern the other teen's facial expressions.

"This is about… you being an orphan, right?" He brought up the subject as carefully as he could. "Did you see – or experience – things at the orphanage?"

Goro shook his head and bent down, putting his elbows on his knees, his forearms dangling in front of his shins. "No. Not _at the orphanages_. Before them.”

"Before…?" The word left Ren's mouth slowly, cautiously.

Goro let out a huff. "There is a man that I hate above all others. I can't rest until I've punished him and the rest of his kind."

"Did this man… commit crimes against women and children?" Ren watched Goro unblinkingly.

The detective gave a bitter, raspy laugh. "He raped my mother. That's how I was born."

Ren felt his world jerk to a stuttering stop.

He clenched his hands into fists just to feel _something_ , instead of the emptiness he suddenly found himself falling headfirst into. His mind reeled from what Goro just told him.

Everything _\- everything_ \- suddenly made more sense. Yes, given the circumstances, he would definitely have done the same thing. Why should he _not_ seek to punish criminals with an almost obsessive vigour? Why should he _not_ detest those who lifted their hands against women and children? Were he in those circumstances, Ren knew that his burning desire for justice would become all-consuming, an infernal passion to which he would have offered up his entire being until he was burned down to embers. _Let justice be done, though the heavens fall._ If _that_ was what Goro was trying to work towards all this time… no wonder Iwai couldn't understand his relentless drive and lack of self-preservation. No wonder Goro had made such an outburst out against Kamoshida's crimes and involved himself with the affair. No wonder he was doing everything he could to have more power in the force.

"I…" What should he even say? Goro wasn't moving after he made his statement. Somehow, Ren knew something like 'I'm sorry' would never cut it. "I'm honoured that you told me this, Goro."

"People think I'm obsessed with my career because I'm a glory hound, or that I just want more money to make up for my miserable childhood as an orphan." Goro's voice was deliberately even. "But it's much more personal than that. It's petty, isn't it, when you think about it? I'm never going to get rid of all the rapists in the world. I'm never going to be able to promise the public that everything will be okay. I know this is just a selfish way to make myself feel better. Honestly, if you want to laugh at me, go right ahead."

"I'm not going to laugh at you for this." Ren shook his head and sighed. "The most I'd do is laugh at you for all the fake personas you are wearing to hide who you really are, Goro-senpai."

As if this was becoming a familiar ritual between them, Goro looked up and latched a kick towards Ren. Ren deftly moved his legs out of the way only for Goro to raise his leg, planting the sole of his foot on Ren's knee and shoving the black-clad teen away. It might have looked like fighting for an outsider, but for Ren, this same song and dance with Goro no longer held much animosity.

"Aww, is this how you treat all your fans and your kouhai at school?" Ren tilted his head and spoke with a coy tone that he knew would only upset Goro more.

"You are far more annoying than all of my fans added together." When Goro turned to Ren, the detective was pouting, and Ren couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't care that Goro just stared and shook his head in response. After all, he realised why he liked spending time with Goro. Both of them could relax around the other. Ren needed to be decisive and considerate and a responsible leader in front of Ryuji and Ann, while Goro needed to be a charming and professional detective and media personality. But when they were alone together, all they did was bicker and talk about strange stuff, like how teenagers were supposed to act.

Moreover, Ren felt that despite everything that had been said, there was still more to Goro than he knew. The boy's revelations and silences were messages too – for someone who was either attention-seeking or analytical in front of others, any sort of pensive and subdued behaviour itself was a cue to something different.

"You are _using_ our group, though. You are using the Phantom Thieves and our power to solve cases that will allow you to climb higher in the force." Even so, Ren felt he had to point out something obvious. "That's the whole reason you proposed that idea during lunch."

"Wouldn't you have done the same?" Goro tilted his head back. "When I told Morgana that the Metaverse was extremely prone to manipulation, I knew what I was talking about."

Ren huffed, crossing his arms. "Cliché. Doesn't mean I’ll let you drag us into a trap."

"I won't." Goro shook his head. "I’d need to think of an exit strategy for myself as well in that case. And why would I kill off a hen that has been laying golden eggs?"

"You two… are you really lounging around in a public park in modelling gear?"

"Wha--" Goro whipped his head around, turning away from Ren to look at the sidewalk before them. Ren followed his gaze and saw a young woman in a fluffy coat standing there, about four or five metres away from them. Her hair, coiffured in a manner that probably revealed too much of her forehead, was curled to fall down to her shoulders at the sides of her head. Her brown eyes were completely fixed on Ren and Goro and her brows were furrowed in displeasure.

It was as if she could _see them_.

"Who's she?" Ren gave a quick whisper to Goro.

"I can't recall… she seems a bit familiar but…" Goro's reply was hesitant. Maybe he knew who this girl was, but he was evidently having problems recalling her name.

"That voice… You are Akechi Goro?" The girl walked closer to them, her eyes still focused on the two young men, who were _supposed to be in the Metaverse_.

"Erm." That was Goro's only confused response to the situation.

A bit behind them, a young child raised his hand and pointed to the girl, exclaiming loudly. "Mummy, that girl is talking to thin air!"

The girl seemed surprised to hear this. She turned around to look at the young boy, and Ren took the opportunity to grab Goro's gloved hand.

"Let's get out of here." Ren figured what Morgana had predicted had come true. This girl was more than an ordinary citizen, and she had somehow managed to see them in their Metaverse gear. He scanned all around them and saw Morgana's head poking out of a bush behind the girl. "Hurry!"

Goro nodded, still stunned. He at least knew that they had to move away from here. The two boys jumped over the bench and bolted, into the trees and bushes and running out of the park as fast as they could, with Morgana hot on their tails.

Thus, when the girl turned back to the bench, all she saw was the running figures of Goro and Ren getting further and further away from her.

 


	8. Shafts of Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been away on vacation for 3 weeks and have had very limited internet access, so this chapter came out later than it should have >.>
> 
> Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves model under intense pressure, and they in turn pressure Goro into take them to his humble home.

"You and Goro were really reckless…" Morgana muttered, shuffling uncomfortably in Ren’s bag as Ren sat on the train in the following afternoon, on their way to Takemi's studio for the photoshoot.

Ann was sitting next to him, with Ryuji on her far side. The two of them were engaged in heated discussion about something or other – the plot of a popular manga, from the sound of it. That, thankfully, prevented them from hearing the cat's words.

Ren reached into his bag and patted Morgana, feeling how the cat's cute little head fit perfectly inside his palm. He scratched the cat’s fur and the back of Morgana's ears, smiling as the cat meowed in comfort. Morgana, however, shook his head, letting Ren know he wouldn't get out of this with some petting.

"It seems nothing came of it." The bespectacled boy whispered back. He had not told Ryuji or Ann about the mishap he and Goro had suffered in Inokashira Park yesterday. That was how they had run into a girl who could see them even when they were hidden in a layer of the Metaverse.

The two boys had raked their own brains about the identity of the girl but hadn’t had any luck pinpointing anyone. The detective said he would go through some of his own photos – she might be someone who he’d met during a social function, given that she recognised his voice – and would report back to Ren after the photoshoot today.

Morgana's blue eye peeked back at him from inside his bag. " _For now_ , that is. Who knows who she might have been.”

Ren ruffled Morgana's fur again. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." It was not like he could do anything about that right now. What was done was done, and he would have to deal with the consequences later.

He made a note to never go into the Metaverse out in the open anymore, though. If Goro ever wanted to have another _private chat_ , Ren would insist on heading to the detective's apartment, Goro's protests be damned.

"Hey, enough petting Morgana." Ann poked him as the train announced the next stop to be Shibuya. "Time to get off the train and put your best modelling face on."

Morgana shrank back into the bag and Ren filed out of the train after Ann and Ryuji, with the trio heading directly towards the studio. The detective was already there, in the process of heading to the changing rooms to put his white suitcase away. Goro gave them a nod and a smile when they walked through the door, one that Ren noted was much more genuine than the first time they met.

Surprisingly, Takemi was also at the front desk, speaking in a low tone to the receptionist. She turned around to greet the models, looking chic as ever in a tight black blouse and charcoal jeans that hugged her legs. But despite her attempts to look friendly, her brows were furrowed, and her fingers tapped nervously and rapidly on the receptionist’s counter.  

Ann questioned casually, tilting her head. "It's rare seeing you out front, Takemi-san. Is something up?"

"Wow. I didn’t take you to be this perceptive, Ann-chan." Takemi gave a tired smile. "This can’t be helped. We have a special guest coming to observe the four of you."

"Special guest?" Ann muttered, incredulous, while Ryuji and Ren looked at each other. Even Goro stiffened and shifted to stand closer to the other three models, his expression neutral and guarded.

"Don't worry about it. Just pretend they don't exist – oh, speak of the devil." Takemi heaved a sigh and straightened up, running a hand through her hair, cut short and dyed into a fashionable dark blue. "Here she comes."

Ren turned as the bell on the front door chimed.

Before him was the girl from Inokashira Park. Her familiar head of fluffy hair was dyed into a soft brown a few shades lighter than Goro's, and her big brown eyes shone with an eager light as she looked about the room. The round and pleasant face lacked the displeasure Ren saw yesterday, yet Ren somehow knew her visit was related to their blunder.

This couldn’t possibly be good.

Then, of course, there were the men in black suits behind her. Three of them, in fact. They were tall, towering over Ren, with their muscles discernable even through the suit. Their eyes, set in swarthy and stern faces, rapidly darted about the room in a way that screamed ‘bodyguard’, even though they wore nothing to indicate themselves as such. Ren felt his legs go weak as memories of his time in the detention center flooded back into his brain, and he had to grab his school bag tightly to calm himself.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Takemi-san. How have you been?" The new girl's voice was clear and soft. In any other circumstance, Ren would have described it as angelic.

Takemi smiled in return. "Long time no see, Haru-chan. I'm well, thank you for asking. How are you, and how is your father?"

"We're both doing well. Thank you." The girl – Haru – nodded. "I hope I'm not being a bother today. This project has gathered a lot of attention in the office, and I thought I might come have a look at the magazine's next hot topic."

Takemi laughed heartily. "You won't be a bother at all!"

Ren’s mind, however, was racing as the photographer and the girl continued chatting. _Who was she? Why was she so familiar with Takemi? And why is she talking about their modelling project?!_

"Crap…" He heard Ryuji breath behind him. "Is that really _her_?"

Goro immediately turned to Ryuji. "You know her?!"

There was a significant silence before Ann gave a sigh. "Well, it's more like we _know of her_. She's a third year in Shujin Academy, so we know who she is…"

Goro frowned, his handsome features contorted in dissatisfaction. "But why is she _here_?"

"She's… she's the heiress of the Okumura Entertainment empire." Ann conceded. "Her name is Okumura Haru, the only child of Okumura Kunikaze, who owns the company we are currently modelling for."

Ren didn’t hear Goro’s reply. Turning to look at the other boy, Ren saw the same kind of panic that he felt flash across the detective's face as well.

The two of them looked at each other, and that was when they knew, they’d really fucked up.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

As expected, modelling under the gaze of Okumura Haru was a harrowing experience.

Sure, she was just one year older than Ren. Heck, she was probably younger than Goro. And yet the detective tripped over one of the light stands when they emerged from their changing rooms. True, Ryuji caught Goro in time, so the detective was at least spared having his face smash into the ground, and Goro laughed it off as being unfamiliar with the room’s layout, but Ren knew him better than to trust that flimsy excuse.

Goro was truly unnerved if he was messing up like this – but then, maybe he was right to be.

At least they had plenty of excuses to duck back into the changing rooms, given the various outfits Takemi had for them today. The photographer had tweaked their 'roles' as promised, so now Goro no longer had to endure the antics of the others as a "Prince", instead becoming the mischievous and warlike "Crow", while Ren became the "Joker" – close enough to a jester, Ryuji became "Skull", and Ann became "Panther". Evidently, these went with some of the masks and colour schemes from the original outfits, though they only wore briefly those today before Takemi ushered them into clothes that looked a more lot normal.

Ann went first this time, dressed in black tights, short skirt, and a short red jacket, with the ensemble making her look both fashionable and sporty. As she posed confidently in front of the camera, Okumura Haru was sitting demurely a few metres behind Takemi, her face calm and collected, even smiling.

Was she really just going to sit there for the entire afternoon, watching them??

Takemi gestured for Ryuji to go up next after Ann had finished. The Shujin boy flashed a big grin towards the staff before walking up, giving a high-five to Ann. The blond boy’s roguish charms had been given quite a boost today, with his getup of a brown jacket, navy jeans and polished leather shoes making him look posh and rough at the same time. Takemi praised Ryuji as she got to work, the shutter of her camera clicking in rapid fire as she got shots in one after the other. She then quickly waved Ren over, gesturing him to get ready as Ryuji was about to step off.

Ren tried his best to forget the presence of Okumura Haru as he stepped into the spotlight, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and jeans, smiling and posing for the camera. According to Takemi, they were trying on some middle-range brands that should be affordable for their population, though Ren didn’t recognise any of them. When his session was over and he stepped out to change places with Goro, he noted that Okumura Haru's eyes had narrowed, with the young woman’s lips pursed in concentration, quite unlike the relaxed smile she had worn when she watched Ann and Ryuji.

There was no doubt as to the purpose of Okumura Haru's visit. As the heiress of a vast media empire, Ren couldn't imagine her taking time out to watch four small-time models for the sake of mere curiosity. She must have recognised them, then found out about their relationship with the magazine. The girl worked fast.

It was honestly a little scary.

Ren didn't know what Okumura Haru wanted, though. Why would she go through the trouble of finding them? He managed to get through his set of photos on pure muscle memory and vacated the spot for Goro, who was wearing a pure white, form-hugging jacket, though Ren was too panicked to have a good look. Ren settled for watching Okumura in return, noting how her gaze seemed to drill into – and through – Akechi Goro's silhouette, as if she could discern something from his movements.

When the shoot finished, Ren found himself loitering in the studio area, putting off changing for as long as he could. After all, the only thing Okumura Haru had done so far was watching, and Ren felt there had to be more to her visit than simply to appreciate the efforts and rather nice physiques of four young models. Surely, she would make her move soon – and sure enough, as the staff thinned out, Okumura Haru stood up and approached Takemi.

Ren bent down in the corner, pretending to fiddle with his shoelaces – and trying his best to remain inconspicuous - as he listened intently.

"It is always a pleasure watching you work, Takemi-san. You are quite the professional." He heard Okumura's dulcet tones as she greeted Takemi.

The older woman laughed again. "It's nothing, Haru-chan. This is what I do to pay the bills, after all."

"I do have one question." _Ahh, here it comes_. Ren perked up as Okumura spoke again. "The models initially wore very distinctive outfits well-suited to their personas, even featuring four unique masks. Did anyone else wear them apart from these four models? For example, models working on other projects?"

"No…?" Takemi shook her head. The confusion in her voice seemed genuine. "I _am_ a professional, you know. If I re-used clothes between projects, some magazines would be very unhappy."

Okumura Haru chuckled. "I understand, Takemi-san. The clothes were just so _distinct_. It would be lovely to make them iconic for _Monthly Youth Style_. I am sure our editors would love it too."

The topic of conversation then drifted away to other things, but if Ren had any doubts about the purpose behind Okumura Haru's visit today, they had all but disappeared. The fact that she had sat through the whole session without engaging with any of the Phantom Thieves only made Ren more stressed, as whatever she wanted, it meant she didn’t want to be seen publicly with them.

"Hey, Ren, what are you doing still out there?" Ann poked her head out from her changing room down the corridor. "I'm already done changing. Don't hang around in your outfit for that long."

Ren mumbled some excuses and went into his designated changing room, switching back into his uniform as quickly as he could.

Only, when he emerged from his changing room, his worst fears were confirmed, as Okumura Haru was standing at the end of the corridor, blocking the models' escape route – no, just their way to the reception area and the main entrance.

Maybe he was getting too deep into his persona. Then again, maybe not, since right now, the last thing he wanted was to speak to Okumura Haru, though it seemed he had no choice, as she stood between him and freedom.

She was engaged in conversation with Ann. Ryuji was slouched against the wall, his body language radiating discomfort, with his back lurching to one side and one knee bent. Goro was standing to the side, his suitcase on the ground against his leg, his arms folded and his back stiff, a very silhouette of agitation.

Things… didn’t look good.

Seeing Ren approach, Okumura Haru smiled at him, nodding daintily as he took a position beside Ryuji.

"It's good to finally see all of you out of your modelling gear, Phantom Thieves of _Monthly Youth Style_ – or should I say, the Second Coming of the Detective Prince, and three current Shujin students?"

Ann gave an uncomfortable laugh. "I mean, yeah, of course! I recognise you from school, Okumura-senpai. I just never expected you to come here personally. It was such a surprise."

"Yes." Okumura nodded solemnly. "But you four surprised me first last week. Just imagine, seeing four students running through school grounds wearing fancy model gear from a magazine under your father’s company. That alone would have been odd enough, but then I saw them assault someone behind the Shujin gym."

A strangled gasp escaped from Ann’s lips, and Ryuji jerked upright, any sign of boredom banished by the shock of what the media heiress had said. Goro cursed under his breath and even Morgana let out a startled _meep_.

Oh no.

Ren had thought Haru was only going to talk about the incident at Inokashira Park. But it seemed that they had fucked up way before that.

"Imagine my surprise that day. I was tending the rooftop gardens on the Shujin school building, and all of a sudden four people and a fluffy black thing were running across the school grounds." Okumura Haru nodded demurely, yet the words she spoke were poisoned barbs piercing Ren’s flesh. "I thought it might have been some cosplayers brave enough to practice their hobby at school, but if it was, then it was strange how nobody paid attention to them. And then they turned the corner behind the gym.” She paused. “There was yelling after that, _screaming,_ sounds that did not seem… human. And only hours later, Kamoshida was hit by a truck, sent to the hospital, and confessed his crimes against Shujin students. I can't help but think the colourful group I saw was somehow related to this strange turn of events. Wouldn't you agree?"

Goro stepped up, walking up to Okumura. "I am sorry that you had to witness that, Okumura-san,” he said, in his collected Detective Prince voice. “But there is no evidence to tie those people to us. As you saw today, we are only models, and we don't own any of the clothes, so –"

"Takemi-san confirmed that your distinctive outfits and masks never left her studio." Okumura Haru shook her head. "Besides, that wasn't the only time I saw you in your outfits. I saw _Crow_ and _Joker_ at Inokashira Park yesterday, didn't I?"

 _I was wondering when that would come up,_ Ren thought as Ann and Ryuji turned their eyes to Goro and him, blinking in confusion. Ryuji opened his mouth to say something, but Ann silence him by stomping on his foot and giving him a warning look – not realising that doing that was almost as bad as an admission.

"And your point is?" Goro asked, seeming perfectly composed as he gestured with one of his gloved hands. "Perhaps you were mistaken. Even if you saw what looked like _Crow_ and _Joker_ , you didn’t see our faces, right? You can’t possibly believe there are no similar outfits out there.” Here he turned and his gaze linger on Ann for a moment. Ren knew what he was thinking – Ann’s Metaverse catsuit wasn’t even a part of the Phantom Thieves project. “There is no evidence against us – or against anyone else, for that matter."

"I heard you talking at Inokashira Park, Akechi-san." Okumura Haru levelled her gaze at the detective. "Are you trying to say that someone’s voice might sound the same as yours?"

Goro bit his bottom lip. "It’s not unheard of,” he said. “It could well be that you are mistaken. I do work for the police, and witnesses are often confused – they think they saw something, but it turns out they misremembered. They want to believe something, so their mind changes some details to fit their belief. Seeing what looked like Joker and Crow, with one of the individuals possibly sounding like me – it doesn’t mean anything."

"Does it now?" Okumura Haru tilted her head. "You are, in theory, working for Okumura Entertainment. I researched you a little, Akechi-san, and I know you are in dire need of money, which is the reason for your many part-time jobs. I would hate to see you get a pay cut – or be barred from modelling altogether.” Akechi stiffened, his jaw tightening at this threat. “The same would apply to all the rest of you, Takamaki-san, Sakamoto-san, and Amamiya-san. In fact, you three wouldn't want Shujin to find out about your part-time jobs, would you?"

Ryuji let out a grunt as if struck, while Ann looked stunned, as if unable to believe what Haru was saying.

"You’re blackmailing us." Ren said flatly. Okumura Haru had done her research. Meanwhile, though there was no concrete evidence, the heiress of Okumura Entertainment didn't need facts to make their modelling careers hell. It wouldn’t be hard to get her company to blacklist some small-time models, and once it got out that _Okumura Entertainment_ no longer wanted to work with them, well…

The fact that she hadn’t done that, hadn’t had them removed from the project, hadn’t even reported them to Shujin, and was instead having this conversation with them painted a very clear picture.

She _wanted_ them to know she knew, to have the threat of what she could do hang over them as… leverage.

She wanted them for something.

"What do you want, Okumura-san?" Goro said in a low, growling voice, reaching the same conclusion as Ren.

Okumura Haru took a step closer to the detective. "To begin with, explain to me how no one could see you." The heiress narrowed her eyes. "No one reacted to you at Shujin, and when I spoke to you at Inokashira Park, my bodyguards said I was speaking to thin air. What did you do to become invisible to everyone _but me_?"

Morgona wriggled vigorously in Ren's bag, probably wanting to express his opinion. Ren responded by shifting his bag to his front and hugging it tightly to silence the cat.

The last thing they needed was to explain to the heiress how a cat could talk – or how they could talk to a cat if she only heard meows.

"It's difficult to explain." Goro opened his mouth, then closed it, frowning. "It's… how would I put it…"

"What? Is it _magic_?" When Goro dragged the suspension out for too long, Okumura tilted her head.

"Why do you want to know how we do it?" Ren cut in, thinking one step ahead. It struck him that Okumura didn't need to know _how_ they became invisible. If Ren were her, he would be more interested in figuring out how such powers could _help_ him accomplish… whatever she needed from them.

"I am curious why I was the only one who could see you." Okumura blinked at him. "Is that too much to ask?"

"It's convoluted, but you probably can see us because you are, ah, rich." Ren concluded, twirling his fringe with his fingers in a nervous fidget.

"Um…" That was evidently not what Okumura was expecting. "So… that means you are visible only to rich people? In that case, he would be quite the bother…"

" _He_?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow. "I get it. You want us to target some dude for you." He glanced at Goro, and immediately Ren knew how Ryuji realised what was going on. Okumura Haru _did_ sound a bit like Goro when he wanted their 'help'.

"You could say that. But if it is really as you say, that only the rich can see you, you might run into a fair bit of trouble." Okumura shrugged, but she bit her lip, looking quite unsure. "In that case, maybe this was a waste of time. Maybe I should look for another way –"

"Let us help."

Ann and Ryuji glared at Goro as the detective uttered those words. Ren wondered what made Goro want to help Okumura. Was it his issues with violence against women again? Was he afraid that if Okumura found them to be of no use, she’d go ahead and blacklist them? Or was he being more entrepreneurial, thinking that the best way to deal with this situation was to have the heiress of Okumura Entertainment owe him a favour?

No matter Goro's motives, it made Okumura Haru pause.

"Well… I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Here." Reaching into her pocket, she handed a business card to Goro. Taking the card from her, the detective frowned. Ann and Ryuji and Ren subtly crowded around Goro, peeking at the card in his hand.

It was a plain business card, printed on thick white paper. The name 'Sugimura Takahiro' and a phone number were written on the card, with no company name, logo, title, or anything else printed. Goro flipped the card over, and there was nothing on the back either.

It was just a name and a number and no other identifier.

"Who is this?" Goro frowned.

"You should be able to find out yourself." Okumura Haru shook her head. "To make a long story short, I want to change how he thinks about me. In fact, if you can get him to reform his repulsive ways towards women entirely, just like what you did with Kamoshida, that would benefit me significantly."

The models looked up at Okumura Haru, questions on their lips, but the heiress was already walking away, heading back towards her bodyguards. The only clue that she’d given them – the only physical evidence of the confrontation – was the card in Goro's hand, and the solitary name printed there.

“So… What is this about Okumura-senpai seeing you two at Inokashira Park yesterday?"

Goro and Ren turned to see Ann glaring at both of them, her hands on her hips and a frown on her face.

"I, um, we…" Ren scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Ryuji joined Ann’s camp, giving the two a fierce scowl. "What the hell did you guys do after we split up yesterday? Did you go into the Metaverse? Is that why she saw you in your ' _modelling gear_ '?"

Ren looked away, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the team. "We, erm, wanted to have a chat about this… in a private setting, so… yeah, we went into the Metaverse."

There was a frustrated sigh as Ann put her face in her hands. "You went into the Metaverse just for that? Couldn't you have, like, gone to one of your homes??"

"Guys. Let's not talk about this _in public_." Goro hissed, putting up a hand to stop the conversation as one of Takemi's assistant poked her head around the corner, no doubt checking up on the models after hearing raised voices.

"I vote for going to Goro's apartment to continue this conversation." Ren immediately put his hand up. Goro glared at him, to which Ren only shrugged. "I mean, you _are_ the one who got us into this mess. You should take responsibility."

Morgana's voice came out from the bag in a muffled meow. "I agree with Ren. If we actually went to your apartment yesterday, Okumura Haru would not have turned up. At least, she wouldn't have caught us this quickly, even if she did see us taking down Kamoshida."

Goro's brows knitted together in a deep frown. "Fine. Whatever. We can head back to my apartment, but on one condition. No photos of the building or inside the apartment. I do **not** want my address or any of my personal details accidentally leaked."

"Man, having people wanting to know everything about you is what being a celebrity is all about, though." Ryuji sniggered and shuffled on his feet. "But whatever, we get to go inside the apartment of Akechi Goro, the teenage ace detective. That should be plenty for me to brag about to chicks!"

Ann tried to elbow him, and Ryuji laughed.

Goro though, he just looked gloomy.

 

-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-

 

Goro’s residence was… not what the Phantom Thieves were expecting.

At all.

After all, given his celebrity status, they’d expected Goro to live somewhere quite posh. Shibuya, Shinjuku maybe, or perhaps even near Kasumigaseki, where the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters were located. That _would_ explain his need for money and the many part-time jobs he took, since rent in those areas was quite expensive.

Instead, the address Goro gave them led them to the quiet and aged suburb of Sangenjaya, tucked away next to a minor trainline, requiring a change at Shibuya to get into the main traffic circle.

Sangenjaya was as crowded as a Tokyo suburb could get, but where other places were full of billboards and salarymen in suits, Sangenjaya was full of other things. Ren looked about in wonder as chubby house cats wandered about, young children returning from school amidst innocent laughter, and cafes and teppanyaki shops sprawled out under dark awnings with cheap and tacky plastic tables and chairs. Unlike the rest of Tokyo, Sangenjaya felt secluded, stagnant, perhaps even left behind by the forward march of time. Yet as Ren inhaled the scents of home cooking and heard the creak of bicycle wheels, it felt like a strange, incongruous slice of something familiar.

Home.

Hiding amidst high-rises, the buildings in Sangenjaya were built quite low in comparison. On the main streets, there were some new apartments five or six storeys tall with shops on the ground level. Deeper into the rabbit warren of narrow streets, Ren saw fancy single-standing houses for the rich, and older apartment buildings two or three storeys in height for the poorer. The white paint of some of these older apartments had started to peel from neglect, and there were unforgiving anti-crime bars over every ground floor window. Goro led them to one such three-storey building and unlocked the main door, a panel of thick wood painted with a dark shade of mahogany that Ren had only seen in pre-War houses. The bolt creaked and struggled to open until Goro leaned against it with his shoulder and _pushed_ , and then the door sprang open on dusty, dull hinges that were probably older than Goro himself. The corridor before them was paved with ancient yellow linoleum, which had bulged up slightly from its age. But at least it was quite clean.

Judging from the light reflecting off the floor, someone even took pains to regularly polish it.

Goro's place was halfway down the corridor, a 1LDK apartment on the ground floor. There was a bathroom, a laundry closet, a kitchen and dining area, and a bedroom with its door closed. As he came through the front door, the first thing Ren noted was the lack of furniture throughout the entire living area.

There were only two chairs and one table, plastic contraptions that seemed like it came from the teppanyaki shops a few blocks away. The floor was a warm, wooden colour, but with the security iron bars outside the window, the sun was entering the room in shafts of light interspersed with dark stripes, rendering the room feeling uncomfortably similar to a prison cell. A rickety study table stood under the window. On top of the table, there was a small shelf made of cheap bamboo, upon which school textbooks rested.

"This is…" Ann looked around and struggled to continue the sentence. Ren could relate. He had imagined the home of the Detective Prince to be many things, but not this… poor and barren state.

Goro took off his shoes and marched straight towards the study table, putting his white suitcase next to it and turning back to face the group, crossing his arms. The three Shujin students must have looked quite silly as they hovered at the porch area – Ann was still scanning the room dumbfounded, Ren peeking around curiously, while Ryuji was looking up and down, wondering whether a detective might have hidden compartments in his rooms.

"Don't laugh." Goro frowned sternly.

"I'm not laughing." Ann responded. "I'm more… concerned? Is _this_ really how a high school senior is living? And Akechi Goro, no less?"

"I'm managing." As if he was a porcupine, Goro's defence mechanisms instantly reared up, his tone turning biting as he ground out the words. "No need for your concern."

Using his paws to unzip Ren's bag further, Morgana poked his head out. "I can see why you didn't want us to come here now. It's not some place you'd want to show off, is it?"

Goro shook his head. "No. Of course, it's not."

Ren adjusted his glasses. "Look, I know you don't have a lot of money, but you are not _that_ poor. What are you saving your money for?"

"Things." Goro shrugged. "I need to get leads on cases assigned to me, so I can get results. A lot of times, those leads need money. Potential witnesses, accessing files and recordings, even visiting trustworthy psychics – I need funds ready for those things."

"You really take your work far too seriously." Ryuji said as he took his shoes off and wandered into the mainly empty living room, then popped himself down on the floor unceremoniously. Goro looked at the blond boy incredulously, blinking rapidly as if he couldn't believe a Japanese man just sat on the floor.

"What?" Ryuji raised his eyebrow at the detective. "I don't judge. It's not like I live anywhere posh."

Goro was still staring at Ryuji as if the Shujin student had grown a second head.

"Why are you acting so surprised?" Ryuji stared back. "Look, I grew up with only my Ma. She got married soon after finishing school. Didn’t do university, so she couldn’t get any high-paying jobs after the divorce. It's tough without a working adult male in the family when you’re Japanese. So yeah, when Ma and I couldn’t get tables and chairs, we sat on the floor too. I don't see the point in being formal when you can't afford to."

"Heh." Goro gave a strange little chuckle as he sank down to sit on the floor as well. "If you say so. That’s… that’s surprising, coming from you."

Ann and Ren took off their shoes too and joined Goro and Ryuji, the four of them forming a little circle, sitting on Goro’s living room floor. Morgana leapt out of Ren's bag and landed in the middle of them, meowing and stretching his legs out. Ann reached her arms towards Morgana and the cat happily jumped into her lap, purring contently as the girl tickled him.

“Ann, you should at least sit on a chair.” Ryuji nodded at the blonde girl. “You’re the only girl here and all.”

“Nope. It feels more like we are a group when we’re all huddled on the floor like this.” Ann scratched Morgana’s back. “If anything, _you_ should sit on a chair, with your recovering leg.”

“Nah. Don’t worry about me. Hey, let’s just get what happened yesterday out of the way first.” Ryuji turned to Ren and Goro. “Dudes, what the heck happened yesterday, and how did you run into Okumura?”

Stuttering, and with much reluctance, Ren and Goro explained their mishaps yesterday, especially on how Okumura Haru recognised them even in the Metaverse. Ryuji and Ann sighed and cursed and shook their head. Still, by the end of it, they accepted the event as what it was. Just like Goro, Ren was also glad that his friends were not being judgemental, even though the blame was squarely on him and Goro.

As the topic of yesterday died down, Goro took out the business card that Okumura Haru gave him and placed it in the middle of the group. Ann hummed thoughtfully. "This is the person that Okumura Haru want us to… essentially have a change of heart, right? But this card is strange. It's completely blank, except for the name and number. If he works for a company, there is no company name or even a logo."

Ren shook his head and leaned back, using his arms to support himself. "A lot of famous people just have a blank business card like that. They are well-known enough that they don't need anything else to promote them. Knowing Okumura Haru, this man might be someone quite established in the media field."

Ryuji whipped out his phone. "I've Googled this name already and a few dudes showed up, all with the same kanji characters. Can't tell which one exactly Okumura wanted, though. The number couldn’t be found on the net, so that wasn’t useful to pin anyone down."

Goro took his phone out as well. "I got pretty much the same thing. However, I ran a few more searches with this name together with “Okumura Entertainment”, and then with "Okumura Haru", and I think I have narrowed it down to this guy." He thrusted his phone into the middle of the circle. "Take a look."

The picture in the phone was a young man in a white suit and violet dress shirt, complete with a dark tie, smiling composedly at the camera. His brown hair was sleeked back, and his young, handsome face was well-manicured. And from a glance, it was obvious that the picture had been taken at an event, with the logos on the wall behind him indicating heavy sponsorship by Okumura Entertainment.

"This guy is the only son of a Diet member." Goro elaborated. "His father is a high-ranking member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. The Okumura Entertainment Group would gain great commercial benefit from associating with Sugimura Senior. Maybe that is what Okumura Haru was referring to?"

Ren hummed. "Partially, I'd say. Okumura also said she wants to change how Sugimura was 'repulsive towards women'. I’d wager there was more between the Okumura and the Sugimura families than just money."

"Hell, if we go along that train of thought, maybe he even made advances on Okumura Haru and refused to take no for an answer." Ryuji growled and slapped his thigh. "That'd explain why she wanted us to get him discreetly with our powers."

Morgana jumped out of Ann’s lap, landing next to Goro’s phone on the floor. His tail swished from side to side as he spoke. "Do we all agree to check out this Sugimura Takahiro?”

“Yes.” Goro said decisively.

“Yes.” Ann followed.

“Yeah, why not. Okumura might even owe us a favour.” Ryuji chuckled.

“We really have no choice. She’s literally blackmailing us into helping,” Ren lamented. When Morgana narrowed his piercing blue eyes at Ren, the teen sat up and put up his hands in mock surrender. “I mean, yes, yes I’m in.”

_He’s just like a cat. No respect for the human who feeds him._

“Well.” Unaware of Ren’s thoughts, Morgana nodded and look around the circle of models. “It sounds like we are all keen. Let's arrange to head into Mementos tomorrow after school then. Are you all free?"

"Mementos?" Ryuji thought about it for a moment. "Right. That's the place you talked about that Ann and I haven’t been to, right? Like, the heart of the Metaverse and everything?”

“Yep. Given Sugimura’s social standing, I don’t think we should go against him in the lower levels of the Metaverse. We probably wouldn’t be invisible, given how Okumura Haru saw us twice in a row.” Morgana explained. “That means we have to go into the depths of the Metaverse, where the collective subconsciousness of all of Tokyo is materialised. There, we should be able to see what Sugimura’s Shadow is up to and change his perception in that way.”

“Shadow… like what happened with Kamoshida?” Ren tilted his head.

“Like I said, all humans have a Shadow.” Morgana nodded. “It’s the subconscious part of yourself, a representation of your deepest feelings and desires. Every human has a Shadow in the Metaverse, and the more important they are in reality, the more noticeable they are there. Shadows of powerful people like Okumura and Sugimura are very easy to spot that deep in the Metaverse.”

“Easy to spot…?”

“You’ll see. And like with Kamoshida, what we do to the Shadow in the Metaverse affects the real person’s thoughts, but the real person won’t know the identity of whoever affected their Shadow.”

“So why don’t we go into the depths of the Metaverse all the time then? Why did we only dabble with the shallow layers with Kamoshida?” Goro questioned.

“Like I stated before, you can interact with reality when you are in the shallow layers, while you can’t in Mementos, so if you know where an ordinary person is in reality, you can enter a shallow layer of the cognitive realm nearby and deal with them there. Once you go deeper, it is really hard to find people who are not rich or influential.” Morgana pouted. “Powerful people are the other way around – they would be hard to approach in the shallow layers, and easier to spot in Mementos.”

“They have more cognitive… weight, is it?” Goro asked.

“Something like that.”

“All things said, I’d appreciate it if we get into less trouble than we did last time.” Ann sighed and hugged her legs to her chest. “Even though we awoke to more powers during the encounter with Kamoshida, it still scared me. Mementos won’t be crawling with Shadows like what Kamoshida summoned, would it?”

“It’s worse.” Ren rolled his eyes. “It’s full of waiters with no faces.”

Ann and Ryuji gawked at him with wide eyes. Goro shoved at Ren’s shoulder for the bad joke. Morgana sighed.

“Yes, but don’t let Ren scare you. If the Shadow waiting staff doesn’t catch you doing anything illegal, they won’t attack you.” The cat shook his head. “But that can all wait till tomorrow. For now, kids, head home and rest well. And tomorrow I will lead you into Mementos – the great structure that represents all the human minds of Tokyo!”


	9. Thirty Million Souls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story now has a P5R tag as well, since I found it hard to resist the temptation to integrate Kasumi into the story~

The next day, Ren woke up and spent a good thirty minutes fiddling with a comb, trying to tame his unruly mess of thick, curly, black hair. When Morgana asked him what he was doing, Ren replied with a shrug that he couldn't possibly enter the 'representation of everyone's minds in Tokyo' with messy hair.

His cat only gave him an extremely irritated glare.

Ren laughed, scooping the cat up in his arms and kissing the top of the little creature's head. Idly, the boy wondered what Kujikawa Rise would say if she knew her meek, quiet, and introspective protegee was quite the _provocateur_. Ren wouldn't deny that he was indeed quiet and reserved most of the time - but when all artistic expectations and burdens fell from his shoulders, Amamiya Ren knew he could be a significantly more flamboyant person than the model the world believed him to be.

Life in Tokyo, in all honesty, had not been bad at all. Despite the rocky start, it had been nothing but liberating for Ren. Within the span of one month, he had gotten himself two steadfast friends and one fascinating detective colleague. Together, they had destroyed a teacher who preyed on high school girls, and even managed to pick up and look after a magical cat. Away from his parents, his theatre company, and the dancers who’d watched him grow up, there were no expectations for Ren, and frankly, he loved it. His parents never even called him.

Well, they probably called Sae to check how he was doing, but if those conversations did occur, then Sae didn’t see fit to mention them, or have them anywhere he could hear.

Personally, Ren preferred it that way.

The ball of black fluff wriggled in his arms as Morgana lifted his head to look at Ren.

"Honestly, I'm actually trying to be concerned. Aren't you afraid of going back to Mementos?"

"Don't be silly, Morgana." Ren sighed and opened his arms, falling face first into his hard bed. "Of course, I'm scared, but what can I do about it? We have to go back there eventually, one way or another, no?"

Ren didn't think he'd ever forget their visit into the auction house. In the days after that incident, his dreams had literally been haunted by the dark red ambiance of the place, the sharp glare of that bleached-white stage, the endless sea of identical sofas, and the inhuman and gaping faces of the waiters. He knew he had to go back there eventually. There were too many unanswered questions about their powers, about their circumstances, even about their _cat_.

At the very least, he could tell himself that this time he would have a group behind him – one with considerably more experience with their powers and the strange nature of the Metaverse than the last time.

"Look, Mementos values rules as much as Japanese society." Morgana purred. "As long as you behave in there, Mementos won't hurt you. Just… don't be too sure of yourself, okay?"

"Thanks for the concern, Mum."

"Mum?!?" Indignant, Morgana glared daggers at Ren with his big blue eyes. "Is this how you treat your mentor -"

"Ren! I know you’re awake in there! Breakfast is ready!"

"Besides, Makoto is more like a Mum in this household." The cat grumbled as Makoto's very pointed request floated through their door.

"Oh? Not Sae-san?" Ren put Morgana down on the bed. The cat stood up on all fours and shook his head.

"Nope. Sae is more like the dad. Now go eat your breakfast before the landladies get angry at you."

Ren laughed and scratched Morgana under his chin, before jumping off the bed and heading out to the living room. His door opened directly into the living room, and as soon as he stepped out, he could smell the warm scent of toast and hear the morning news on the TV.

The Niijima sisters were getting ready for the day, with Sae already sending quick emails on her phone while Makoto put toast, bowls of cereal, and milk on the table. Breakfast was always a simple and Western-style affair in this family, and Ren couldn't help but think it suited the Niijima sisters' modern images quite well.

Sae nodded back at Ren as he greeted both sisters, but what little of her attention wasn’t dedicated to work matters was focused on the TV. Makoto was the same, taking her eyes off the screen only when necessary. Seeing this, Ren's gaze naturally slid to the TV screen as well, where the news was covering the upcoming Japanese election, a topic that Ren knew a state prosecutor would have reasons to be attentive to.

Sae looked over at Makoto.

"Makoto, make sure you take notes on the news and what they're saying about the election. The university entrance exam always has an essay question on current affairs. It'd be best if you can both argue for and against a political opinion in your answer."

"I understand." Makoto nodded, but couldn't hide a small sigh. Ren sympathised with her.  Each candidate made colourful pitches in front of the camera, but it was so hard to discern any genuine policies from the posturing in those short speeches.

Frankly, Ren didn't think he'd be able to argue for or against any of these candidates' views, since there was nothing solid to support or oppose – which he supposed might well be the point this early in election season.

Sae nodded towards the television and continued to lecture her sister. "Pay special attention to what Candidate Shido says. He's the prime contender for Prime Minister this time, and his opinions on how to guide Japan past our perpetual economic slump are gaining ground. It wouldn't hurt to study and refer back to his thoughts."

Ren couldn't help but butt in. "Can you explain to me what his thoughts are exactly, Sae-san?"

Sae's sharp eyes moved to Ren and her brows creased as she frowned, but the boy didn't flinch.

"Personally, I've paid the majority of my attention to the crime and justice section of each candidate's agenda." Putting down the toast in her hand, Sae elaborated. "Shido wants more money put into national security and the judiciary system, which is always good news for me. Our country is peaceful and prosperous, but every once in a while, Japan will produce gruesome murder cases that shake the world, with the criminals behind them not getting a fitting punishment – not the death sentence, or anything close. Not to mention, our country is one of the only places in the world where organised crime is acknowledged as a legal profession, thanks to our feudal past. Shido has promised to reform society and instil better morals. All of which sounds good for a prosecutor."

Ren hummed noncommittally, his gaze shifting to assess at the younger Niijima as Sae wrapped up her speech. Makoto was still looking at the TV, giving no indication that she thought anything of her sister's view. Well, Ren had to admit Sae had made a good point about the university entrance exam. Even _he_ knew that current affairs were a topic that frequently came up.

Ren's phone vibrated once in his pockets as conversation in the room died down and the sound of the news summarising the election process took over yet again. Taking out his phone, Ren gave a quick glance at it. As suspected, the notification had come from the "Phantom Thief" group chat on LINE. His fellow models were coordinating where to meet after school today, so they could head into Mementos together to seek out Okumura Haru's "target". Goro was talking about possible secluded places where they could go to activate the app, while Ryuji, (un)helpfully, was pointing out that there were no such things as secluded places in central Tokyo. As expected, plenty of snark had ensued, with the two boys’ messages quickly flooding the group chat.

Ren sighed inwardly, turning the screen off and leaving Goro and Ryuji to their argument.

"In other news, teenage prodigy detective Goro Akechi has provided crucial evidence to yet another domestic violence case. While these cases do not often come to the criminal courts, detective Akechi had shown a fine aptitude towards -"

Ren glanced over at Sae to see the older woman's lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowed in displeasure.

"Sae-san, what do you think of Akechi-kun's track record?" Fiddling with his phone in one hand, Ren looked at Sae from behind his glasses, deliberately tilting his head so the morning light reflected off his lenses.

"I'd be much happier if he wasn't in the Special Investigation Unit." Sae muttered as she lowered her head to eat some cereal.

"You… don't like working with him?" Ren blinked as Makoto turned to her sister. Given Makoto's usual quietness, he didn't expect her to join the conversation.

Sae sat up in her chair, her back stiff and straight. "He's efficient, but what he's doing isn't what the SIU was made for. We are an elite group whose purpose is solving big cases that require high-level coordination and support, but Akechi seems interested in spending his time and resources on small cases more suited for domestic courts. Instead of a member of the SIU, he is acting more like a cop walking a beat. Perhaps he would be happier if he were a mere beat cop, but where the SIU's money and resources were concerned, we have better things to do than domestic abuse and individual murder cases."

Makoto gave a low hum, but it was too detached for Ren to tell whether it was disapproval or agreement.

"I do appreciate his drive, don't get me wrong." Sae lifted an eyebrow. "I just don't know if the SIU is the right place for him, or if he's the right detective for us. If he wants to stay on the special investigation force, then I'm afraid he won't get too far."

"The public seems to love him though." Ren pointed out, trying to at least gain some ground for his friend.

"That's irrelevant for law enforcement and more important for a model." Sae's glare shot towards Ren. Even sitting in the warm and spacious living room, Ren felt a shiver run down his spine as he understood Sae's implications. "Akechi-kun shouldn't be working as a detective if fame is what gets him ticking."

Ren swallowed thickly as both Niijima sisters turned back to their breakfast.

From the tone of Sae's voice, her decision was final.

 

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

 

By the time lunch hit, Ann had managed to calm Ryuji and Goro down on LINE and had brokered a compromise. As it turned out, the most secluded place to be found anywhere nearby was a cul-de-sac hidden away in Sangenjaya, not far from Goro's apartment.

The Shujin students jumped onto the train to get there from their school in Aoyama, while Goro said he would meet up with them after he dropped off his school things first. Everyone had the presence of mind to bring their luxury bags as well, and not for the first time, Ren sighed as he thought of how complicated the logistics of all of this was. Ryuji's ostentatious faux python skin bag could hardly fit into his school bag, and Ren had been struggling with the added burden of having to carry _Morgana_ 's bag for the whole day. With school being what it was and other things having demands on their precious storage space, they really ought to find a more convenient way to deal with having access to their… tools before they officially ran out of space and had to leave something behind.

Their destination was a steep street well-hidden amidst the narrow and winding paths of Sangenjaya, with houses and parking slots squeezed in so tight and in such unnatural angles, it made Ren think he might have stepped into a surrealist painting. He still hadn't come to terms with just how _packed_ central Tokyo was. It was just so far removed from the more open spaces of the Japanese countryside that he was used to, but with each passing day he spent in this metropolis, he was becoming more used to this new reality, his memories of the past becoming a blur.

"Here he comes!"

Spying Goro approaching them, Ann waved at the detective enthusiastically. Ren turned and squinted in the glare from the afternoon sun reflecting off the windows around him, barely managing to spot Goro as the detective walked down the road in a brisk pace. With the weather warming up, Goro had foregone his thick uniform coat. Instead, the detective was clad in a simple long-sleeved button-up white shirt, which Ren suspected was just his uniform shirt anyways. He had also left his signature white suitcase at home, holding on to nothing but his Burberry bag.

"Excellent!" As the self-proclaimed mentor of the group, Morgana happily poked his head out of Ren's bag. "Now that you're all here, I can give you some last-minute practical advice about Mementos!"

Morgana had already told them of the lore behind Mementos, yet this was the first time the words "practical" had come out of his mouth. That got everyone's attention. Even Ryuji narrowed his brows and stood up a little straighter.

"The apps in your phones act as invitation tickets for you to enter Mementos as flesh and blood humans. Mementos is a structure in the heart of the Metaverse, where the Shadow selves – the subconscious forms of all residents in Tokyo – live in." Morgana nodded. "We will most likely arrive somewhere near the front entrance. That will be a large set of double doors, beyond which is the lobby which lead into Mementos itself. Mementos is laid out…much like a modern shopping mall."

"A-a… shopping mall?" Ann asked incredulously. Ren blinked.

"Yes. You see, Mementos is a metaphysical representation of people exchanging one thing for another." Morgana continued. "Someone may decide to use money to buy a house in the real world. To represent the person making that decision, their shadow will pay for and obtain a deed for a house in Mementos at a slightly earlier time. Similarly, all other decisions we make regarding other people - such as deciding to exploit someone, to befriend someone, to marry someone - are all represented as transactions in Mementos."

"Then, I suppose, in the case of Okumura Haru, we go and find out what transaction she was planning to make with Sugimura Takahiro?" Ever the detective, Goro was already connecting the dots together.

"Yes. And if we truly want her to owe us a favour, we should stop that transaction between Sugimura and Okumura, before it happens in the real world." Morgana said emphatically.

Goro and Ren shared a confused look before Goro asked: "How do we stop something metaphysical like that?"

"We confront their Shadows before they leave Mementos to join their real selves in the physical world and take the items they exchanged in the transaction. The exchanged items represent the decision made by one's subconscious. If these items are brought by the Shadows to their real selves, it represents one's psyche committing to the decision. If we intercept the delivery, the people affected will change their minds. They won’t go through with the decision." Morgana declared.

"These Shadows can _come out of Mementos_?" Ryuji sounded confused.

"They don't usually come out, but they must re-join the human mind every once in a while." Morgana elaborated. "The conscious and the subconscious influence each other in a human being. If these two are separated for too long, the person's psyche would shatter. There is no telling what would happen to one's mental state then."

"… In summary, we go into a metaphysical shopping mall, find Sugimura, and rob him of whatever item he exchanged with the Okumura family?" Goro's facial expression was the very materialisation of doubt, but Morgana still nodded firmly.

"That's exactly right. Bust in and steal the items of contract! That's why you are fittingly called the Phantom Thieves!" The cat's tail waved from left to right, evidently excited. "Now you've figured out how Mementos works, let's get started!"

With a nod, Goro took out his phone, and the others huddled around him as he tapped on the glowing red eye, the app that none of them were able to delete.

As he did, Ren felt the bizarre, weightless sensation of entering the Metaverse again, saw the world swivel in front of him and his different senses merging with each other. When the strange feeling was over, Ren expected to be teleported to a comfortable, well-lit, air-conditioned shopping mall. But he couldn't have been more wrong.

The first thing that struck him was the red light. His head had been facing upwards when he shifted into the Metaverse, and in place of the blue sky, there was nothing but a swathe of dark, ominous crimson. In the middle of that bloody expanse was a harsh, bone-white sun, with tens of thousands of small black dots flying towards it. There were no clouds, no moon, no stars, nor any hint of weather. A caustic, biting wind howled across this barren landscape, bringing with it no pleasure or relief, only a sense of primal despair that threatened to drive him to his knees.

It was as if Ren had been thrust into a blood-stained snow globe, where the world wasn't blue and white but red and black.

The second thing that hit him was the noise. The world was so loud, it was absolutely _deafening_. From his vantage point on a tall platform, he could see an endless sprawl of single-level bazaar-like shops beneath him, an undulating sea of mouse-grey tarpaulin roofs and timber-erected stalls. He could see innumerable Shadows thronging about, hawking wares at each other. The streets were narrow and un-paved, the shoppers brushing against each other shoulder-to-shoulder, cheek by jowl, stirring up dust in their wake as they hurried along in messy and grey clothes that all seemed to blend together.

It was like a battle zone out here, the entire bazaar generating an unending roar that drummed unceasingly against Ren's eardrums. It was the noise of thirty million souls jostling for goods and money, the magnitude and intensity of which made Ren shiver with an instinctive fear.

A sharp pull of his sleeve brought his awareness back to himself, with the boy almost _staggering_ as the scope of his attention shrank away from the _everything_ all around him to his body, and the tug that had jolted him out of gazing upon the world. Looking down, he saw that Morgana was pulling at his black coat, concern evident in the cat's big blue eyes.

"Is it too much here, Joker?"

"H-huh? Joker?" Ren blinked.

"Joker. That's your name as a 'Phantom Thief' in the magazine, isn't it?" Morgana pouted. "We won't be using our real names here, in case we run into human Shadows that know you guys. So, you four are Joker, Panther, Skull, and Crow. As for me," Morgana grinned, "call me Mona."

"Uhhh, save the introduction for later, Mona." Ann grunted behind them. "What's all this _noise?!_ "

"You are hearing the voices of the ceaseless thoughts of humanity." Morgana answered, looking between Ann and Ren. "That's why it's so loud and chaotic. Let's get inside Mementos. It should be a lot quieter inside."

Turning his back to the crowd, Ren noticed the giant structure looming behind him. As surreal as the cacophony of souls was out here, the size and scope of Mementos - what Morgana claimed was the shopping mall for all the humans in Tokyo - was even more out of this world.

Mementos stood in the centre of the Metaverse, the sole tower looming hundreds of meters above the chaotic flat din. Outwardly, it was a grey-and-blue cylindrical tower, with an immaculate surface of steel and concrete, with not a single window on its surface. The outer walls were sleek and smooth, a perfect cylinder completely devoid of any irregularities, a building utterly cut off from the outside.

Now that he was facing the building, Ren noted the black dots flying towards the sun were in fact an endless swarm of aircraft flying between the top levels of Mementos and the sun. Was this how Shadows "got out" of the Metaverse to rejoin their hosts in the real world?

"Let's get moving already, Joker!" Morgana said, pulling at his sleeve again, and Ren allowed himself to be dragged into the lobby of the building after the rest of his team. They stepped through large glass doors into an area that looked a lot more like a mall. The floor of the foyer was paved in white marble, leading into a central courtyard lined with elevators and stairs that connected to the upper levels.

And most oddly of all, everything was quiet.  

Caught off guard by the sudden cessation of noise, Ren's gaze shifted upwards. The courtyard was wide and spacious on the ground floor, lined with a variety of shops and filled up by many stores that openly displayed their wares. Similarly, stores could be seen all along the corridors on the upper levels. The interior was largely decorated in white, with the occasional green or blue ornament adorning the walls, doorways, and pillars that were placed tastefully to create the illusion of a colonnade. Ample amounts of artificial light provided illumination, even though there were no windows leading outside. Not that the outside had much _light_. The almost hellish red-and-black landscape they just left seemed a world away from the serene grace of the interior, where pale and calm colours dominated the place as far as the eye could see.

To his eyes, there must be at least twenty floors to this shopping mall. Faceless waiters were everywhere, dressed in black tuxedos and bowing gracefully as they gave directions and assistance to customers. It would have been a scene straight out of a European royal setting if it weren't for the disturbing lack of faces on those staff. Just like before, they had nothing but a gaping black mouth on their faces. Even as the mouth mimicked smiles and speech, it was still bizarre to watch them without any other references to the human countenance.

The shoppers themselves looked quite human, except for their golden eyes, which every Shadow seemed to possess. They probably looked identical to their real-life counterparts, and they smiled and laughed and blinked much like an actual human would. Ren and the rest of the group were the only ones who wore masks in this place; everyone else showed their faces bright as day. Morgana had explained that they were wearing masks because of how they were portrayed in the magazine, and also that the masks were a protection against the waiters from recognising them as real humans traversing the realm of the subconscious.

"Hey… There's a concierge stand in the corner." Ann pointed discreetly towards their right and said in a hushed voice. "Do you think we can go ask them? I have no idea how to find _anyone_ in this big place."

"I don't know if we should. Wouldn't the concierge be in the same league as these faceless waiters?" Goro mused.

"Don't remind me…" Ryuji gulped. "I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that these guys only have, you know, one _black mouth_."

Ren looked at Morgana wordlessly. The little creature nodded.

"We might as well ask the staff. I can't find anyone here either. I think we’ll have to get the system to help us."

The semi-circular concierge's stand was to the side of the main hall, where a line of Shadows was forming and being assisted by various waiters. The wood panels of the stand gleamed with a rich, dark brown sheen, fitting perfectly into the posh and luxurious setting this place was designed to simulate. Within the stand, gesturing at the various waiters and directing them whichever way, was a young woman with dark red hair who seemed to be in charge. Dressed in a black suit jacket, short black skirt, and black stockings that accentuated her figure, the young woman was busy talking to some waiters while the Phantom Thieves approached slowly. She had a human face, but like the other human Shadows in here, her eyes were gold as honey.

Ren heard Ryuji curse in a low voice behind him. "Shit. That's _her_?"

"Her? Who is she?" Ann, walking next to Ryuji, replied in a surprised whisper. "Do you know her? Is she someone we know in real life? She has a face, so she must be human, right?"

"Ryuji's right. I know her as well." Goro also muttered, coming to a stop next to Ren and pulling on Morgana's scarf to stop the cat too. "Stop. She's not human."

Ann made a confused noise. "But - but she has a _face_! She doesn't belong here. The staff are all male and faceless."

"It's not that she's _not_ human." Goro corrected. "She's… she's an online virtual idol. She's not a Shadow, but she's also not human… not in the strictest sense."

Morgana, being pulled to a stop by Goro, pouted and turned around. "She's a human made by other humans?"

"I guess you can interpret it that way." Goro nodded slowly, the beak of his red mask moving up and down and he did so. "That's why I find her presence here… weird? I mean, she's acting as a head receptionist for the subconsciousness of all of Tokyo. I'd imagine this role to be filled by a famous actress, or a national news presenter, or someone… popular. Not a virtual idol who's not even the most famous of them all."

Ann tilted her head curiously. "She's not famous?"

"Famous enough." Ryuji grumbled. "But yeah, not like, top notch. Not to the level of Hatsune Miku or anything like that."

"Not famous enough for her to manage all of Tokyo." Goro concluded. "And shouldn't it be her creator who gets represented here?"

Morgana shook her head. "She might be well known as a virtual idol, but her creator wouldn't be. Do we want to _not_ talk to her then?"

The five of them looked at each other. Ren looked at the faceless waiters wandering around, up at the thousands of shops they might have to search through, and back towards the concierge's stand.

"… I'm more comfortable talking to her than with the waiters."

Ann nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Joker. What's the virtual idol's name? You guys haven't told us how to address her yet."

"Her 'name' is Yoshizawa Kasumi." Goro replied. "But whether she retains that name here is anyone's guess."

"If you've made up your minds, then let's go already." Morgana sighed at their decisiveness. "Come on! Let's go!"

Biting his lips, Ren followed Morgana up to the concierge's stand. Seeing them approach, the young woman turned to them with a charming smile.

"Hello, esteemed guests! My name is Yoshizawa Kasumi, the head concierge for Mementos. How may I help you today?"

The Phantom Thieves gave each other a look. Goro gave then a small nod at her and smiled as he spoke.

"Yoshizawa-san, thank you for your offer of help. We are looking for someone who may be a customer here, but don't know where to start looking for him. Would that be something you can assist with?"

"Yes! And please, call me Kasumi." Yoshizawa Kasumi nodded with a demure smile. "I can help guests with a range of things, including finding the current whereabouts of other guests. Do you have a name and a social description for the man you are looking for?"

Goro nodded. "Yes, we have a name. But… social description?"

"Some words to describe who he is in society." Kasumi elaborated. "It could be his job, the name of his parents, where he lives - anything to separate he from others who may share the same name."

Ren nodded and stepped up to the low barrier separating them from Kasumi. This close, Ren could even see the individual eyelashes fluttering on her face and the single mole below her eye as she tilted her head in curiosity. "The man we are looking for is named Sugimura Takahiro. His father is a politician, one of the top members in the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. He is an only son, and he knows Okumura Kunikazu and Okumura Haru, the family heading Okumura Entertainment." Ren paused and turned back to the group. "Does anyone remember Sugimura's mobile number?"

Ryuji looked blankly at him and Ann shook her head with a grimace. Goro sighed and pushed the red mask up his nose a little, then gave out the number on the card, evidently having memorised it already.

"Thank you." Kasumi smiled back, though her eyes were no longer focused on them. Even with her golden irises, Ren could tell that she was gazing at somewhere far away. Her face went slack and her mouth opened slightly, as if she was no longer in control of her body. Goro shifted towards Ren. When Ren turned to look at Goro, the detective's eyes were narrowed in concern.

However, the dazed expression on Kasumi's face soon passed. With a blink, the charming smile was on her face again, and her eyes sparkled with life once more. "Ahh. I've found him. However, as you are, you wouldn't be able to go up to where he is now."

Goro huffed. "Why not?"

"You are new here, aren't you? How high you can go up Mementos is determined by your social standing." Kasumi was still smiling, but her expression seemed a lot more distant now. "Sugimura-san is an elevated member of society. Even though you are also esteemed guests, you are not ranked high enough in society to stand on the same level as him."

"Blatant prejudice." Ann muttered behind them.

Goro took in a deep breath and the ends of his mouth twitched, his eyes alight with vicious anger as he glared at Kasumi. Ren put a hand to his arm to stop whatever the detective wanted to do.

"Where is Sugimura? How do we get to where he is? Do we need to have the same social standing as him to go up there?" Instead, Ren asked the pertinent questions that can hopefully get the job done. They could rant about Kasumi all they want once they are out of here.

"Sugimura-san is in the Upper Half of Mementos." The way she said it implied this was a proper noun. "What you are currently seeing is the Lower Half of Mementos, where ordinary denizens of Japan can enjoy life's benefits. Above this structure, there is a separate structure where the elites of Japan enjoy their life, separated from the masses. That is where Sugimura-san is. I am sorry to say that none of you have enough social standing to be allowed up there."

"Whaddya -!" Ryuji sounded like he was about to explode, but Ann grabbed his arm and quickly whispered something to rein him in. Next to Ren, Goro also let out a rumbling sound from deep in his throat, his body stiff and rigid.

"Is that all I can help you with for today?" Kasumi smiled again, her large golden eyes curving into crescents on her face, the very personification of polite service.

"That's all. Thank you for your service." Ren knew there was little point in arguing with her. Besides, he noticed that their time with Kasumi had attracted the attention of various waiters, who had started to gather around them. Their attention reminded Ren of the ordeal he’d endured in the auction house, and that recollection of it made him want to be away from Kasumi – away from the ruler of all the waiters here - right this instant.

The group fell back, returning towards the entrance, all of them sporting expressions that indicated various levels of displeasure and gloom. Ryuji was still muttering under his breath, while Ann had given up placating him and was joining in his complaints. Morgana was pouting and looking around them for more clues. Goro had his arms folded, his eyes glowering, and Ren decided to leave the detective to brood.

Ren himself sighed and looked up yet again. What Kasumi said interested him. There was indeed a ceiling at the very top of this structure, and Kasumi implied there was a separate space above that. It made sense, since Mementos appeared taller than twenty levels from the outside. Ren wondered how high the structure reached. The Upper Half, really, would be more like the upper three-quarters, if he were to judge from his idea of Mementos.

Something tugged on his wrist, and he looked down, expecting it to be Morgana again. However, what greeted him was the round face of a young child, surrounded by light blond hair and containing a large pair of unblinking golden eyes.

"Ack!" Ren yelled out instinctively and flinched away. The little girl (boy?), however, held on to Ren's wrist with a death grip, pulling Ren's arm back down with such force that he stumbled forward, his balance broken with that pull.

"Quiet." When this golden-eyed, blond, austere child spoke, Ren was finally sure that this was a girl. Now that he focused on her, he saw that she had shoulder length hair and was wearing a hairband, while also dressed a dark blue coat that seemed to be made of a velvety material. She must have been no older than thirteen or fourteen. With her short stature and figure, there was no way she was even a teenager. Yet, the piercing stare and her serious face made Ren swallow nervously. It was a solemn expression that would have subdued even a full-grown adult.

Ren briefly wondered if she was even human.

"The man you are searching for cannot be found in this part of Mementos." This girl repeated what Ren already knew, as if she had heard what Kasumi's words. But then she added something new. "If you wish to meet him, you need to bring someone here. Someone who is able to go up there."

"Bring someone here?" Stunned, Ren's mind rapidly went through his options. His group was just the models working on the _Phantom Thieves_ project and Morgana, no one else. "But we don't have anyone else - "

"The one who asked you to find this man. She would suffice." The blonde girl pronounced these words emotionlessly, still staring at Ren.

"Oku - she - how did you know?" Ren stared at the small girl, who only responded by looking upwards. Eager to understand the meaning behind her words, Ren looked up too, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

When he looked down, the girl had vanished, though he hadn't looked away for more than two or three seconds.

Turning around rapidly, Ren looked everywhere for the girl. She should have been easy to find in this version of Tokyo. Here, most Shadows still looked Asian, mostly with black hair (and the occasional brown) while that girl had a head of pale, almost platinum-blonde hair. Yet she was nowhere to be found.

"Did you see a blonde little girl just now?" When Morgana approached him, Ren knelt to look into the cat's eye and reached out to grab Morgana's shoulder. "A little taller than you. Shoulder length hair. Really serious face. Big round eyes and a blue -"

"Joker." Morgana looked at Ren concernedly. "Are you okay? I know this sucks that our trip was fruitless, but there's little we can do. We'll have to retreat for now."

"… you didn't see a blonde girl?" Ren frowned.

"No. Not at all." Morgana shook his head. "Look, we didn't gain anything from this trip, so let's just get back and think of alternative ways to get to Sugimura -"

"No." Ren interrupted Morgana and shook his head firmly. Letting go of Morgana, he stood up and looked at the ceiling above them. Rather, the thin layer of white concrete that separated the dwelling of the masses from the playground of the truly powerful. "I know what to do next. We’re going to bring in someone who can help us get to Sugimura. Someone who would be able to access the Upper Half herself."

Morgana blinked up at him in confusion. "Who do you have in mind, Joker?"

"Who else? Okumura Haru."

 

 

 


End file.
